2-  . <?.  2-C, 


0t  t\w  j. 


PRINCETON,  N?  J. 


Purchased  by  the  Hamill  Missionary  Fund. 


Dimsion 


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ENCASED  IN  WHITE  MARBLE  AND  BEAUTIFULLY  INLAID 


J 


V 


INTIMATE  GLIMPSES  OF 
LIFE  IN  INDIA 


A NARRATIVE  OF  OBSERVATIONS, 
EDUCATIONAL,  SOCIAL,  AND  RELIGIOUS 
IN  THE  WINTER  OF  1899-1900 


BY  / 

GEORGE  TRUMBULL  LADD,  LL.D. 

Author  of  “In  Korea  with  Marquis  Ilo,” 
“Knowledge,  Life  and  Reality 
“ Rare  Days  in  Japan,”  etc. 


BOSTON 

RICHARD  G.  BADGER 

THE  GORHAM  PRESS 


Copyright,  1919,  by  Richard  G.  Badger 


All  Rights  Reserved 


Made  in  the  United  States  of  America 


The  Gorham  Press,  Boston,  U.  S.  A. 


“In  this  country  are  born  the  Buddhas,  the  Private 
Buddhas,  the  Chief  Disciples,  the  Eighty  Great  Disciples, 
the  Universal  Monarch,  and  other  eminent  ones,  magnates 
of  the  warrior  caste,  of  the  Brahman  caste,  and  the  wealthy 
householders.” 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  The  Invitation  and  the  Journey  ...  11 

II.  Beautiful  Bombay 23 

III.  Two  Notable  Ceremonials 48 

IV.  A Model  Native  City 72 

V.  Relics  of  Mogul  Magnificence  ...  92 

VI.  Glorious  Darjeeling 121 

VII.  The  Capital  City 138 

VIII.  Holy  Benares 172 

IX.  The  Caves  of  Ellora 195 

X.  An  Oasis  in  the  Desert 216 

XI.  Madras  and  Fort  George 236 

XII.  Madura  and  Southern  India 269 

XIII.  Ceylon  and  Homeward-bound  ....  285 

Index 311 


5 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Encased  in  White  Marble  and  Beautifully  Inlaid  Frontispiece 

TO  FACE 
PAGE 


The  Entire  Body  of  School  Children 34 

The  House  of  the  Bridegroom 64 

A Wise  Paternal  Government 82 

The  Stronghold  of  the  City  of  Delhi  94 

The  Most  Perfect  Tower  in  the  World 100 

Walls  of  Good  Stone-Work 104 

This  Mosque  may  be  Likened  to  a Precious  Pearl  . . 110 

They  Designed  like  Titans  and  Finished  like  Jewellers  114 
The  Glory  of  Agra : A Dream  in  Marble  ....  120 

The  Range  to  be  Named  Himachal,  the  Snowy  . . 128 

The  Filth-Laden  Waters 168 

On  the  Bank  above  the  Burning  Ghat 180 

Most  Wonderful  of  all  Rock-Temples 208 

The  Tank  of  the  Golden  Lilies 278 

One  Vast  Green  Garden  of  Nature 288 


9% 


7 


/ 


INTIMATE  GLIMPSES  OF 
LIFE  IN  INDIA 


INTIMATE  GLIMPSES  OF 
LIFE  IN  INDIA 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  INVITATION  AND  THE  JOURNEY 

THE  winter  of  1899-1900  was  one  of  uncommon, 
though  in  several  respects  of  extremely  pain- 
ful, interest  to  the  observant  traveller  in  India.  The 
ravages  of  plague  and  famine  were  over  extended 
areas  more  severe  and  destructive  than  evep'Tefore 
under  British  rule;  and  the  Government  was  being 
hampered  and  even  thwarted  in  its  efforts  to  miti- 
gate the  distress  of  the  multitudes,  chiefly  by  their 
own  gross  and  absurd  superstitions.  Many  of  the 
people  believed  that  the  plague  had  been  brought 
upon  the  nation  through  the  intercession  with  the 
gods  of  Queen  Victoria  in  her  wrath  at  the  defile- 
ment of  her  statue  on  the  maidan  or  public  plaza  of 
the  city  of  Bombay.  When  their  relatives  were 
taken  away,  after  their  sickness  had  been  concealed 
until  they  were  in  dying  condition,  to  the  segrega- 
tion camps,  and  of  course  taken  never  to  return,  they 

11 


12  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

credited  the  rumor  that  the  British  had  used  their 
blood  to  prepare  cement  for  the  railroad  bridges. 
Inoculation  they  regarded  as  the  crafty  and  cruel 
method  of  poisoning  the  surplus  population.  In  the 
efforts  to  feed  the  starving,  the  usurious  native  rice 
merchants  were  no  insignificant  obstacle.  For  they 
were  exporting  food,  or  holding  it  at  high  prices  for 
home  consumption,  while  the  Government  and  mis- 
sionaries were  urging,  quite  properly,  that  succor 
should  be  sent  by  the  shipload  from  England  and 
America. 

To  one  with  insight  the  political  situation  was 
also  rendered  intensely  interesting  by  the  fact  that 
the  restlessness  and  dissatisfaction  of  many,  even 
of  the  more  educated  of  the  native  classes,  were  be- 
ing increased  by  a not  very  accurate  knowledge  of 
the  way  in  which  another  Oriental  people,  the  Japa- 
nese, had  forged  ahead  to  a place  in  the  front  rank 
of  nations.  Why  should  not  India — they  were  ask- 
ing themselves — in  like  manner  show  herself  the  equal 
or  the  superior  of  the  Western  peoples ; and  so  quite 
capable  of  governing  herself  without  their  assist- 
tance,  not  to  say  interference?  This  inquiry 
seemed  more  timely  and  reasonable,  and  without 
doubt  was  more  insistent,  because  just  then  Great 
Britain  was  showing  to  the  world  an  unexpected 
weakness  and  lack  of  preparation  in  military  mat- 
ters in  its  conduct  of  the  war  with  the  Boers. 

In  educational  affairs,  too,  there  were  signs  of 


The  Invitation  and  the  Journey  13 

the  ferment  of  new  opinions  and  new  demands  every- 
where to  be  detected  by  the  watchful  eye,  even  where 
they  were  not  made  more  obvious  by  being  inter- 
preted in  the  form  of  confidential  conversations. 
Much  of  the  existing  system,  in  its  production  of  a 
large  surplus  of  “half-baked”  babus,  who  were  com- 
peting and  clamoring  for  easy  government  positions, 
was  coming  to  be  regarded  as  a failure  in  the  more 
thoughtful  native  as  well  as  foreign  circles.  And 
inasmuch  as  new  ideas  were  flowing  in  from  abroad, 
and  numerous  efforts  at  reform  were  breaking  forth 
from  the  breast  of  Hinduism  itself,  and  the  practices 
of  caste  were  succumbing  to  pressure  from  economic 
and  material  changes  (for  how  shall  different  castes, 
or  those  proud  of  caste  and  the  veriest  outcasts, 
avoid  contact  when  crowded  together  in  a third-class 
railway  car?),  opinions  and  customs  on  matters  of 
morals  and  religion  were  in  a most  interesting  state 
of  transition. 

But  although  the  writer  had  unusual  opportunity 
for  gathering  impressions  in  all  these  fields,  lying  at 
that  time,  as  they  were,  more  or  less  exposed  to  the 
eyes  of  any  intelligent  and  interested  observer,  the 
things  revealed  to  him  of  this  sort  alone  might  seem 
to  those  who  have  travelled  in  India  scarcely  worthy 
of  being  narrated  at  any  such  length  as  to  fill  a 
sizeable  book.  Let  it  then  be  frankly — however 
modestly — affirmed  that  many  of  the  observations 
and  experiences  about  to  be  described  are  decidedly 


14  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

unusual,  and  some  of  them  are  quite  unique.  This 
quality  they  possess  on  account  of  the  nature  of 
the  invitation  which  took  the  writer  to  India,  and  of 
its  entirely  unexpected  and  antecedently  incalculable 
sequences. 

The  story  of  the  invitation  to  spend  the  winter 
lecturing  in  India — its  nature  and  how  it  came  to 
be  given — needs,  then,  briefly  to  be  told.  Most  of 
this  story  was  wholly  unknown  to  me  until  after  the 
invitation  had  been  received  and  accepted;  and,  in- 
deed, after  I had  been  for  some  time  in  the  coun- 
try. The  only  inkling  of  any  such  thing  in  pros- 
pect came  in  the  form  of  a request  from  Professor 
Maher,  the  celebrated  teacher  and  writer  on  psy- 
chology and  philosophy  at  the  Jesuit  College  in 
Stonyhurst,  England.  His  letter  asked  that  he 
should  be  provided  with  some  favorable  notices  of 
my  books  to  send  to  a friend  in  India  who  wished  to 
know  more  about  them  with  a view  to  a possible  use 
of  them  there.  With  this  request  my  publishers 
were,  of  course,  entirely  willing  to  comply.  I 
learned  afterward  that  Father  Bochum,  professor 
of  philosophy  in  St.  Francis  Xavier  College  in  Bom- 
bay, had  refused  to  teach  the  courses  in  this  sub- 
ject required  by  the  Government  University,  on  the 
ground,  as  he  explained  to  me,  that  he  and  his  col- 
leagues came  to  India  in  behalf  of  Christian  truth, 
and  could  not  reconcile  it  with  their  mission  to  in- 
oculate their  pupils  with  what  they  regarded  as  the 


The  Invitation  and  the  Journey  15 

poisonous  doctrines  of  Spencerian  agnosticism  and 
infidelity.  But  this  refusal  was  an  embarrassing 
thing  for  both  the  College  and  the  University.  For 
St.  Francis  Xavier  was  a favorite  college  with  the 
Parsees  of  Bombay;  and  the  Parsees,  in  compari- 
son with  their  numbers,  were  much  the  most  wealthy, 
well-educated,  and  public-spirited  of  the  citizens  of 
the  Bombay  Presidency. 

Moved  by  this  conviction,  and  wishing  to  get  his 
College  out  of  its  embarrassing  position,  Father 
Bochum  had  urged  in  the  committee  on  curriculum 
the  substitution  of  some  of  my  books,  especially  the 
Physiological  Psychology  and  the  Philosophy  of 
Mind,  for  the  works  of  Mr.  Spencer.  It  should  be 
explained  in  this  connection  that  the  Government 
Universities  in  India  are  not  teaching  institutions  at 
all.  The  University  sets  the  curriculum,  holds  the 
examinations,  grants  the  degrees,  and  presides  dt  the 
greater  functions  which  are  held  in  “Convocation 
Hall.”  The  affiliated  colleges  do  the  teaching,  and 
prepare  and  present  the  candidates  for  the  various 
degi'ees.  And,  indeed,  this  is  the  only  feasible  course 
in  India;  for  }7ou  cannot  mix  Muhammadans,  Hin- 
dus, Buddhists,  Jains,  and  various  Christian  sects, 
not  to  speak  of  “agnostics  and  infidels,”  in  the  dor- 
mitories, class-rooms  and  mess  of  a common  college 
life. 

The  chairman  of  the  committee  on  curriculum, 
who  was  an  Englishman  and  an  avowed  disciple  of 


16  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

the  Spencerian  system,  did  not  favor  Father  Bo- 
chum’s proposal  and  demanded  to  know,  “Who  is 
this  Professor  Ladd;  I never  heard  of  him.”  “So 
much  the  worse  for  you,”  retorted  the  doughty 
churchman,  and  forthwith  wrote  a letter  to  his 
friend,  Professor  Maher,  begging  material  that 
should  be  of  help  to  his  contention.  In  spite  of  all, 
however,  my  champion  was  beaten  in  the  commit- 
tee and  his  request  was  denied  him.  Not  at  all 
daunted  at  this,  however,  he  took  an  appeal  to  the 
University  Council  or  Senate,  and  there,  having  the 
active  support  of  Chief  Justice  Candy,  the  Vice- 
Chancellor,  and  other  influential  members,  he  car- 
ried his  petition  by  a two-thirds  majority.  And, 
then,  on  learning  that  he  whose  cause  he  had  so 
pluckily  espoused  and  completely  won,  was  on  his 
way  around  the  world  and  would  visit  India,  after 
having  lectured  in  Japan  with  the  imprimatur  of 
the  Government  there,  his  zeal  and  courage  carried 
him  to  unexampled  lengths  in  the  resolve  to  justify 
and  confirm  the  wisdom  of  his  previous  action.  With 
very  little  dissent  in  the  Senate,  and  with  the  yet 
more  active  support  of  the  Chancellor,  a motion 
was  carried  to  invite  me  to  lecture  in  Convocation 
Hall,  under  the  auspices  of  the  University  of  Bom- 
bay, the  first  and  last  lectures  of  the  course  being 
presided  over  by  the  Chancellor  in  person.  This 
action  taken  was  something  the  like  of  which  had 
never  happened  before. 


The  Invitation  and  the  Journey  17 

To  us,  who  think  so  little  of  established  custom, 
in  academical  as  in  other  matters,  and  to  whom 
precedent  is  of  so  little  account,  it  is  difficult  to 
conceive  of  the  stir  which  these  seeming  trivialities 
made  in  all  India,  with  reverberations  even  as  far 
away  as  Great  Britain.  One  of  its  principal  im- 
mediate effects  was  to  make  the  lecturer  suspected 
of  being  a Jesuit  in  disguise.  At  any  rate,  I was 
from  the  first  conspicuously  in  favor  with  the  Ro- 
man Catholics.  This,  on  the  other  hand,  quite  re- 
gardless of  the  question  whether  we  stood  together 
for  the  defence  of  truth  or  for  the  propagation  of 
error,  served  to  “queer”  me  with  some  of  the  Prot- 
estant missionaries.  My  experience,  however,  is  not 
the  only  instance  which  has  fallen  under  my  ob-. 
servation,  where  these  good  people  have  seemed  to 
prefer  to  take  sides  against  those  whose  competi- 
tion they  most  fear  in  the  way  of  making  numbers 
of  converts,  rather  than  with  those  whose  help  they 
ought  to  welcome  in  the  defence  and  spread  of  the 
fundamental  truths  of  morals  and  religion.  The 
prestige  involved,  and  the  active  and  not  altogether 
good-natured  discussion  to  which  it  gave  rise  in  some 
of  the  more  extreme  of  the  religious  press  on  both 
sides,  in  England  as  well  as  in  India,  brought  the 
unconscious  and  unwilling  subject  of  it  all,  for  the 
first  time  in  a somewhat  checkered  life,  into  the  full 
“lime-light.” 

The  native  officials,  both  high  and  low,  and  all 


18  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

the  higher  native  social  classes  in  India,  are  prompt 
and  eager  to  take  their  cue  from  the  Government  cir- 
cles in  their  treatment  of  foreign  visitors.  This  is 
not  altogether  due  to  the  very  natural  desire  “to  be 
in  the  swim,”  as  the  saying  is,  or  to  curry  favor  with 
those  in  positions  of  economic  and  political  control. 
In  the  case  of  the  more  wealthy  and  intelligent  of 
the  natives,  such  an  attitude  of  deference  arises  in 
acknowledgment  of  the  conviction  that,  with  all  its 
mistakes  and  even  crimes  in  the  past,  and  all  its 
present  deficiencies,  the  security  and  welfare  of  the 
entire  continent  of  India  depend  quite  absolutely  on 
the  guidance  and  guardianship  of  the  British  Gov- 
ernment in  India.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  the 
vastly  improved  facility  of  intercourse  between  In- 
dia and  the  “home-country”  has  operated  to  in- 
crease the  number  of  English  women  who  “come  out” 
to  be  with  their  male  friends  and  relatives,  and  con- 
sequently to  decrease  the  number  of  illicit  connec- 
tions between  British  officials  and  native  women, 
there  are  not  a few  instances  of  sincere  respect  and 
affection  between  the  two  races.  For  example, 
Chief  Justice  Candy  did  not  hesitate  to  affirm  that 
he  had  never  sat  on  the  bench  with  any  one  for  whose 
legal  ability  and  good  judgment  he  had  more  re- 
spect than  his  native  colleague,  Chief  Justice 
Ranade;  and  Lady  Candy  was  mourning  the  death 
by  plague  of  her  native  steward  with  as  much  sin- 
cerity as  could  have  been  bestowed  upon  a similar  af- 
fliction in  an  English  family.  It  is  necessary  to 


The  Invitation  and  the  Journey  19 

bear  in  mind  such  influences  as  these  in  order  to  un- 
derstand the  atmosphere  by  which  we  were  sur- 
rounded during  the  winter  spent  in  India. 

The  stay  of  about  two  months  in  Japan,  during 
which  I was  engaged  in  giving  lectures  before  the 
teachers  under  the  auspices  of  the  Imperial  Educa- 
tional Society,  and  in  the  Imperial  University,  be- 
sides numerous  addresses  of  a more  general  char- 
acter, was  by  no  means  without  value  in  prepara- 
tion for  the  more  difficult  work  in  India.  Not  only 
did  it  give  the  lecturer  more  familiarity  with  the  ma- 
terial, since  the  principal  course  in  the  two  coun- 
tries bore  the  same  title,  but  also  more  facility  in 
method  when  addressing  audiences  so  differently  dis- 
posed toward  the  speaker  as  are  those  of  the  Ori- 
ent. For  the  Oriental  does  not  readily  betray  his 
real  attitude,  either  to  the  person  speaking  or  to 
the  thing  spoken.  The  listener  “keeps  his  face”  to 
the  “saving  of  the  lecturer’s  face”;  but,  often 
enough,  to  the  confusion  of  the  latter’s  judgment  as 
to  the  way  his  words  are  being  taken.  It  is  not 
beyond  possibility  for  the  missionary  or  other  for- 
eign teacher  to  go  on  talking  for  years  to  an  Oriental 
audience  without  really  knowing  how  they  are  tak- 
ing him  or  his  teachings.  A firm  grasp  on  the  sub- 
ject, scanty  notes  but  full  information,  and  the  art 
of  quick  adaptability  to  the  special  occasion  or 
changing  temper  of  his  hearers,  are  indispensable  for 
the  best  success  with  an  Oriental  audience. 

Just  as  we  were  leaving  Japan  an  incident  oc- 


20  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

curred  which  threw  additional  light  on  the  curious 
and  complicated  secret  relations  of  native  and  for- 
eign governments  in  the  Orient.  Our  ship  had 
stopped  two  days  for  the  customary  coaling  at 
Shimonoseki,  and  was  to  sail  for  Hong  Kong  at  the 
earliest  dawn  of  the  next  morning.  But  late  in  the 
evening  there  were  unmistakable  signs  off  some- 
thing quite  unusual  about  to  happen.  The  harbor 
police  were  alert  in  their  watch  about  the  ship ; the 
captain  kept  going  to  the  ship’s  side  and  peering 
curiously  into  the  shadows  below.  What  this  was 
all  about,  he  did  not  disclose,  until  we  were  out  of 
Japanese  waters  the  following  morning.  It  then 
became  known  to  us  in  a confidential  way,  that  the 
celebrated  Chinese  leader  in  the  attempt  of  the  Chi- 
nese Emperor  to  institute  much  needed  reforms,  the 
now  historically  notable  Kang  Yu-wei,  had  come 
aboard  and  was  booked  for  safe  delivery  to  the  Brit- 
ish Government  at  Hong  Kong.  The  wrathful  Em- 
press Dowager  of  China,  the  “Old  Buddha,”  as  Li 
Hung  Chang  used  to  call  her,  after  reducing  to  sub- 
mission the  young  Emperor,  and  having  executed 
such  of  Kang  Yu-wei’s  friends  and  relatives  as  she 
could  lay  her  hands  upon,  had  set  a large  price  on 
their  leader’s  head.  But  he  had  fled  and  had  taken 
refuge  in  Japan.  The  Government  of  Japan,  quite 
reasonably,  neither  wished  to  have  the  reformer  as- 
sassinated on  their  territory,  nor  cared  to  incur  the 
displeasure  of  China  at  harboring  in  safety  one  of 


The  Invitation  and  the  Journey  21 

her  political  refugees.  He  was,  therefore,  quietly 
turned  over  to  the  British  Government,  which,  with 
fewer  scruples,  could  afford  a surer  protection  to 
such  a criminal  patriot.  Kang  Yu-wei  occupied  the 
cabin  just  opposite  to  ours;  and  to  it  he  stuck  very 
close,  taking  all  his  meals  there, — himself  cueless  in 
token  of  his  advanced  position  in  the  reform  move- 
ment, but  closely  guarded  by  two  trusty,  though 
“pig-tailed,”  Chinamen  in  front  of  the  cabin  door. 
I contribute  gladly  this  hitherto  unpublished  bit  of 
the  history  of  attempts  at  political  reform  in  China. 
And  to  this  I add  my  own  strong  conviction  that 
China  will  never  reform  itself  without  being  in  a 
measure  compelled  and  assisted  by  foreign  influences. 

The  only  other  experiences  of  the  voyage  to  Bom- 
bay which  have  any  important  bearing  on  the  win- 
ter spent  in  India  concern  the  writer’s  condition  of 
health.  A slight  attack  of  malarial  fever  had  been 
very  much  intensified  by  a successful  vaccination 
on  the  day  before  leaving  Kobe.  This  fever  had  in- 
creased so  that  on  every  other  day  the  patient  was 
confined  to  his  steamer-chair,  without  pain,  to  be 
sure,  but  without  appetite  and  with  diminishing 
strength,  and  much  of  the  time  not  more  than  half- 
conscious of  his  surroundings.  Certainly  not  a very 
favorable  preparation  for  a winter’s  lecturing  cam- 
paign in  the  trying  climate  of  India.  But  the  Cap- 
tain had  ordered  a special  reservation  of  the  store 
of  chickens  for  his  sick  passenger.  When  the  Chi- 


22  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

nese  cabin-boy  brought  the  first  bowl  of  the  ship- 
cook’s  preparation  to  the  cabin,  he  said  with  an  air 
of  disgust:  “Missy!  cook  no  makee  good  chicky 

bloth ; mollow  I make  chicky  bloth  for  master.”  Our 
“yellow  angel,”  for  so  wre  came  to  call  him,  was  bet- 
ter than  his  word.  For  his  bowls  of  broth,  rich  and 
steaming,  and  heavy  doses  of  quinine,  and  the  de- 
lightful days  and  nights  spent  in  the  open  air,  on 
board  ship  when  sailing  in  the  tropics,  so  far  re- 
vived the  patient  that  he  was  able  to  put  up  a good 
fight  against  his  malady,  while  the  ship  was  on  its 
way  to  Colombo,  Ceylon.  After  a short  visit  there 
(a  brief  account  of  which  will  be  given  in  connection 
with  our  return)  three  days  of  sailing  on  an  old- 
fashioned,  but  for  that  very  reason  most  comfort- 
able English  ship  of  the  Australian  line,  with  its 
large  and  airy  cabin,  abundance  of  deck-room,  and 
wholesome  fare,  although  it  did  not  land  him  “quite 
fit”  as  the  English  are  wont  to  say,  did  tide  him  over 
the  shoals  of  that  disaster  which  is  so  fatal  to  many 
travelers  in  India  and  the  Far  East. 


CHAPTER  II 


BEAUTIFUL  BOMBAY 

T T was  scarcely  six  of  the  morning  in  late  No- 
vember,  1899,  when  the  cabin-boy  of  the  “Chu- 
san”  woke  us  with  the  announcement  that  breakfast 
would  be  at  a quarter  before  seven.  When  we  went 
on  deck  the  sun  was  just  rising.  It  would  have 
been  worth  a much  earlier  and  more  inconvenient 
arousal  to  see  the  queenly  city  of  British  India  for 
the  first  time  under  such  favorable  circumstances. 
The  low-lying  island,  or  rather  group  of  islands, 
now  made  into  a peninsula  by  various  fillings  and 
causeways,  above  which  directly  in  front  of  the  har- 
bor tower  the  clustered  government  buildings  and 
other  more  scattered  lofty  structures,  with  Malabar 
Hill  and  its  villas  and  bungalows  enshrouded  in  gar- 
dens of  palms  and  other  tropical  foliage,  and  all 
backed  by  the  rugged  hills  of  the  mainland  which 
rise  to  an  altitude  of  from  1000  to  2000  feet,  make 
a picture  which  easily  rivals,  if  it  does  not  surpass 
that  seen  from  the  harbor  of  Naples.  In  the  har- 
bor itself  the  ships  of  many  nations  lay  anchored, 
just  beginning  to  stir  themselves  for  the  day’s  work. 

23 


24  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

But  our  Captain,  who  wanted  to  get  to  the  docks 
to  discharge  and  take  on  cargo,  was  not  interested 
in  the  lovely  spectacle.  He  was  fuming  in  real  Eng- 
lish fashion  at  the  nonsense  of  being  kept  waiting 
more  than  an  hour  in  quarantine,  when  his  ship  had 
arrived,  with  clean  papers  from  non-infected  ports, 
in  plague-infested  Bombay.  As  soon,  however,  as 
others  besides  the  health-officers  were  allowed  on 
board,  we  were  greeted  by  the  messenger  who  had 
been  sent  to  welcome  us  and  see  to  the  work  of  get- 
ting our  luggage  through  the  customs.  This  was 
promptly  accomplished  at  a total  expense  of  six 
rupees  and  two  annas  (just  about  two  dollars)  in- 
cluding the  small  camera.  Being  landed  from  the 
ship’s  launch  at  the  wharf,  we  were  met  by  our  mis- 
sionary friend  and  host,  Mr.  Edward  Hume,  and  a 
Catholic  priest  representing  Father  Bochum.  The 
latter  assured  me  that  the  press  reports  which 
claimed  the  plague  to  be  diminishing  in  Bombay  were 
not  truthful.  It  was  increasing;  he  had  already 
been  at  the  bedside  of  the  dying,  that  morning. 

On  arrival  at  the  missionary  compound  in  the  na- 
tive quarter  of  Byculla,  we  were  treated  to  a new 
variation  in  the  ways  in  which  your  Oriental  friends 
welcome  and  dismiss  you  as  their  guest.  This  wel- 
come was  not  a la  mode  Japanese,  but  a la  mode 
Indian.  And  the  pupils  of  the  school  had  risen  en 
masse,  as  it  were,  to  make  a success  of  it.  Across 
the  gate  was  stretched  the  word  “Welcome”  cut  in 


Beautiful  Bombay 


25 


tissue  paper  and  pasted  on  a background  of  white. 
Festoons  of  bits  of  colored  paper  fluttered  from 
the  trees  along  the  driveway;  and  after  driving 
between  rows  of  children  clapping  hands,  on  alight- 
ing from  the  victoria,  we  were  greeted  with  a song. 

All  through  these  dreadful  days  of  famine  and 
plague,  the  bright  spots  for  as  many  of  the  sufferers 
as  was  possible — and  this  was  at  most,  only  a tiny 
percentage  of  the  millions  of  the  people— were  in 
the  missionary  hospitals  and  schools.  The  Govern- 
ment was  doing  what  it  well  could  for  the  scantiest 
relief  of  these  millions.  But  it  could  not  furnish 
them  comfort,  and  the  spirit  of  song  and  flowers. 
As  we  were  expressly  told,  however,  “song  and  flow- 
ers accompany  everything  in  India.”  In  this  school, 
two  hundred  of  the  youngest  were  “famine  chil- 
dren,” who  had  been  taken  from  the  arms  of  their 
mothers  or  picked  up  from  the  roadside  where  they 
had  been  abandoned  to  die  of  starvation. 

It  is  not  our  intention,  here  or  in  any  of  the  fol- 
lowing pages,  to  attempt  the  role  of  cicerone,  drago- 
man, or  guide-book.  But  a few  words  will  perhaps 
help  to  make  more  capable  of  “visualization”  the  sur- 
rounding material  “atmosphere”  in  which  the  next 
few  weeks  of  our  winter  in  India  were  spent.  As  has 
already  been  indicated,  the  public  buildings  of  Bom- 
bay are  from  the  harbor  conspicuously  imposing. 
The  same  thing  is  true  of  them  when  seen  from  the 
streets  or  from  the  open  public  places,  in  which  or 


26  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

near  which  they  are  situated.  Of  these  the  most 
impressive  is  the  line  of  public  offices  and  university 
buildings  which  stretches  along  the  esplanade  and 
faces  the  Back  Bay.  Their  architecture  is  a mix- 
ture of  Gothic  and  Saracenic,  and  the  interior  dec- 
orations are  in  teakwood,  carved  by  a native  work- 
man in  native  and  therefore  Oriental  designs.  The 
University  Library  and  University  Hall  were  soon 
to  become  of  most  personal  interest.  Both  of  these 
buildings  were  largely  built  by  the  munificent  gifts 
of  wealthy  natives ; the  former  by  Mr.  Premchand 
Raichand,  in  memory  of  his  mother  Rajabai,  and 
called  by  her  name;  the  latter  by  Sir  Cowasjee  Je- 
hangir,  and  called  by  the  name  of  the  donor.  It 
was  in  University  or  “Convocation”  Hall  that  the 
lectures  were  given.  But  since  the  structure  is  104 
feet  long  and  63  feet  high  to  the  apex  of  the  groined 
ceiling,  with  an  apse  separated  from  the  hall  by  a 
grand  arch,  and  a gallery  eight  feet  broad  around 
three  sides,  it  is  manifestly  much  better  adapted  for 
academic  ceremonials  than  for  successful  lecturing. 
The  reader,  therefore,  must  not  imagine  the  lecturer 
as  shouting  at  the  top  of  his  voice  to  two  thousand 
persons,  most  of  them  indifferent  to  what  was  being 
said,  while  a few  bend  painfully  forward  in  the  vain 
effort  to  catch  an  occasional  word;  but,  the  rather, 
quietly  discoursing  to  a few  hundreds  of  exceedingly 
thoughtful  adults,  grouped  closely  around  him  on 
the  platform  or  on  the  rows  of  benches  nearest  to 
the  front. 


Beautiful  Bombay 


27 


It  is  not,  however,  the  magnificent  buildings,  the 
art  galleries,  or  the  museums,  but  the  life  and 
thought  of  the  people,  high  and  low,  which  most  in- 
terest me  when  traveling  in  foreign  lands.  This  is  es- 
pecially true  of  the  Orient,  where  all  that  challenges 
to  attention  and  the  effort  at  understanding  and 
sympathy  appeals  much  more  to  the  sense  of  mys- 
tery, and  fascinates  the  imagination  much  more 
deeply,  than  anything  which  Europe  can  furnish. 
The  street-life  of  the  Orient  must  be  seen  to  be  ap- 
preciated; its  variety  of  picturesque  structures,  ani- 
mal and  human  forms,  costumes,  and  strange  cus- 
toms, demand  for  their  fullest  effect  to  enter  the 
mind  through  the  eye.  Nowhere  else  is  this  more 
true  than  on  the  native  streets  of  Bombay,  whose 
only  rivals  in  these  respects  are  the  Straits  Settle- 
ment cities  of  Singapore  and  Penang. 

Imagine,  then,  narrow  and  tortuous  lanes,  lined 
with  houses  several  stories  high,  many  of  which  have 
carved  fronts  and  projecting  stories  supported  upon 
elaborately  sculptured  corbels,  with  here  and  there 
Muhammadan  mosques  and  various  kinds  of  Hindu 
temples  gaudily  painted.  Back  and  forth  in  these 
streets  flow  endless  crowds  of  vehicles  and  human 
beings  dressed  in  motley  costumes  of  all  colors,  or 
with  only  a not  too  generous  breech-cloth,  or  even 
with  nothing  at  all.  They  are  of  all  climes  and 
races “Arabs  from  Muscat,  Persians  from  the 
Gulf,  Afghans  from  the  northern  frontier,  black, 
shaggy  Beluchis,  negroes  of  Zanzibar,  islanders  from 


28  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

the  Maldives  and  Laccadives,  Malagashes,  Malays 
and  Chinese,  throng  and  jostle  with  Parsees  in  their 
sloping  hats,  with  Jews,  Lascars,  fishermen,  Raj- 
poots, Fakirs,  Europeans,  Sepoys  and  Sahibs.” 

The  poorer  of  these  natives  are  housed,  whole 
families  of  the  Oriental  size  in  single  rooms,  into 
which  neither  sunshine  nor  fresh  air  can  ever  come 
directly,  because  they  are  ranged  on  either  side  of 
a hall  which  runs  straight  through  from  front  to 
rear.  The  only  means  of  discharging  garbage  and 
offal  is  to  dump  it  down  into  some  receptacle  from 
this  hall’s  back  door.  Since  the  lower  stories  of 
many  of  these  buildings  are  used  for  the  storage  of 
grain,  and  the  rats  which  infest  this  grain  are  the 
chief  bearers  of  the  plague,  it  need  occasion  no  won- 
der that  the  suppression  of  this  dreadful  pestilence 
was  no  holiday  task  for  the  Government  of  Bom- 
bay. At  our  first  drive  through  these  native  quar- 
ters, our  attention  was  called  to  the  large  number 
of  houses  decorated  (?)  with  half-circles  and  whole 
circles  of  red  paint.  The  former  meant  “case  of 
plague  here”;  the  latter  completed  the  story:  “Death 
by  plague  here.”  On  a single  house  more  than  sixty 
full  circles  were  to  be  discerned. 

As  has  already  been  said,  the  favorite  residence 
of  the  wealthy  and  official  classes  is  Malabar  Hill. 
The  hill  is  terraced  to  its  top,  from  which  may  be 
obtained  a view  that  has  without  exaggeration  been 
called  “one  of  the  finest  in  the  world.”  On  the  same 


Beautiful  Bombay 


29 


ridge  is  the  ladies’  “Gymkhana,”  or  meeting-place 
for  athletic  sports  and  games.  But  overtopping  all 
the  hill,  and  all  the  beautiful  but  then  sorely  stricken 
city,  were  the  “Towers  of  Silence,”  with  their  in- 
audible but  impressive  voice  proclaiming  the  fateful 
truth  that  the  same  end  comes  to  all  alike. 

Our  visit  to  the  “Towers  of  Silence”  was  inter- 
esting, among  other  respects,  in  this  one  peculiar  to 
the  student  of  the  history  and  doctrine  of  religious 
symbolism,  ceremonial  and  myth.  We  were,  of 
course,  treated  to  the  customary  sights  and  explana- 
tions— the  five  towers  which,  however,  look  more  like 
huge  gas-tanks  than  anything  else  to  which  we  are 
accustomed  in  this  country,  the  “everlasting  fire” 
kept  burning  through  the  centuries  by  being  con- 
stantly fed  with  small  pieces  of  sandal-wood,  the 
foul  birds  perched,  expectant,  upon  the  walls  and 
neighboring  trees,  and  the  surrounding  grove,  sol- 
emn and  beautiful,  with  its  cypresses  pointing,  as  the 
Parsees  themselves  say,  heavenward.  It  was  duly 
explained  how  the  bodies  were  placed,  quite  naked, 
on  the  circular  “gridiron”  formed  by  the  two  walls 
between  the  outside  one  and  the  central  well ; how  the 
adult  males  were  placed  in  the  outer  series  of  com- 
partments thus  formed,  the  women  in  the  middle  se- 
ries, and  the  children  in  the  compartment  nearest 
the  well;  and  how,  when  at  the  end  of  an  hour  or 
two  the  vultures  had  completed  their  work,  the  bare 
bones  were  removed  by  the  carriers  of  the  dead, 


30  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

gloved  and  with  tongs,  cast  into  the  well,  and  left 
to  bleach  in  sun  and  wind  until  they  become  per- 
fectly dry  and  afterward  crumble  into  dust.  All 
this  the  professional  cicerone,  either  out  of  defer- 
ence to  the  scientific  and  practical  mind  of  the  West- 
erner, or  because  he  was  himself  ignorant  of  the 
profound  spiritual  significance  of  this  way  of  dis- 
posing of  the  dead,  wished  us  to  regard  as  simply  a 
particularly  good  and  safe  sanitary  custom.  But 
we  knew  what  the  philosophy  which  underlay  the 
ceremonial,  the  symbolism  clothed  in  these  repulsive 
facts,  really  signified.  For,  the  triumph  of  univer- 
sal purity,  physical  and  moral,  over  the  nastiness 
of  physical  and  moral  evil,  was  the  ideal  of  the  an- 
cestors in  Persia  of  the  Parsees  of  Bombay.  And 
where  should  the  foulness  of  human  flesh,  when  de- 
serted by  the  immortal  spirit,  while  waiting  for  its 
resurrection  be  deposited,  that  it  might  not  defile 
the  sacred  universal  elements  of  fire,  water  and 
earth  ? 

We  were  fortunate  in  being  permitted  to  remain 
within  the  enclosure  while  the  first  funeral  of  the  day 
ascended  the  flight  of  steps  leading  to  the  “Towers.” 
There  were  only  six  persons  of  the  procession,  in 
three  pairs,  each  pair  united  by  a scarf  or  shawl 
stretching  between  them.  The  first  pair  were  the 
corpse-bearers,  and  one  of  them  had,  wrapped  in 
white,  the  body  of  a child  which  he  bore  aloft.  This 
“pairship,”  too,  is  symbolical  of  brotherly  union; 
as  a matter  of  fact,  in  the  well  of  the  towers  of  si- 


Beautiful  Bombay  31 

lence  all  classes  of  the  Parsees  of  Bombay  mingle 
as  common  dust.  Two  other  pairs  of  attendants 
followed ; and  we  saw  them  all  come  out  of  the  chapel 
to  get  a handful  of  water  for  their  purification,  and 
heard  them  within  chanting  or  droning  their 
prayers. 

The  university  lectures  were  “inaugurated,”  as 
the  saying  is,  by  a reception  given  to  us  by  Mr.  Tata, 
a wealthy  and  benevolent  Parsee.  With  reference 
to  the  general  character  of  this  gathering,  it  is 
enough  to  quote  a few  words  from  a long  article  in 
the  Bombay  “Times  of  India”  for  November  30th, 
1899. 

“The  gathering  was  certainly  one  of  the  most  in- 
teresting which  has  taken  place  for  a long  time  in 
the  city.  First  and  foremost  education,  in  the  ad- 
vancement of  which  Mr.  J.  N.  Tata  has  himself 
worked  so  assiduously,  was  represented.  Then  there 
were  representatives  of  all  the  professions  and  of 
nearly  every  branch  of  commerce.  It  was,  too,  al- 
most an  international  assembly,  and  some  of  the 
groups  which  resulted  were,  to  say  the  least,  remark- 
able. The  rooms  were  admirably  adapted  for  use 
on  such  an  occasion,  and  the  large  number  present” 
(rather  more  than  1000)  “testified  to  the  immense 
amount  of  interest  which  it  had  aroused.” 

Addresses  of  welcome  were  given  by  Vice-Chan- 
cellor Candy  and  Chief  Justice  Ranade.  The  for- 


32  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

mer  made  reference  to  the  peculiar  relations  exist- 
ing between  India  and  the  University  from  which 
the  lecturer  came,  through  “the  benefactions  of 
Elihu  Yale  of  London,  lately  Governor  of  the  East 
India  Company’s  possessions  at  Madras.”  Nor  did 
he  hesitate  to  refer  to  the  controversy  that  had  re- 
sulted in  the  Senate  of  the  University  of  Bombay’s 
acceptance  of  the  proposition,  “so  ably  supported 
by  one  of  its  Fellows,”  which  had,  after  “due  inves- 
tigation of  their  merits,”  placed  “the  Professor’s 
works  among  our  recognized  text-books.”  More  en- 
lightening still  to  the  author  were  the  words  of  the 
native  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Bench  of  the  Bombay 
Presidency.  “When  the  discussion  arose,”  said 
Justice  Ranade,  “in  the  Senate  of  the  University, 
whether  Psychology  should  or  should  not  be  made 
a subject  of  study,  the  objection  was  urged  that  no 
suitable  books  were  available.  Then  when  Professor 
Ladd’s  books  were  named,  one  party  objected  be- 
cause it  was  claimed  that,  if  a physiological  basis 
were  sought  for  psychology,  it  would  destroy  psy- 
chology. The  other  party  claimed  that  it  would 
only  give  an  additional  scientific  basis  for  psychol- 
ogy. The  old  Indian  position  is  different  from  both 
these  positions.  I have  glanced  through  the  Pro- 
fessor’s Outlines  of  Physiological  Psychology,  and 
find  that  he  takes  a conservative  position,  and  while 
seeking  for  a physiological  basis,  yet  he  retains  a 
true  spiritual  psychology.”  (It  is  exceedingly  in- 


Beautiful  Bombay 


33 


teresting  to  recall  in  this  connection  that  an  entirely 
similar  dispute  had  been  carried  on  in  this  country, 
though  some  fifteen  years  earlier.) 

Succeeding  social  functions  provided  for  our  en- 
tertainment may  be  dismissed  with  a few  words  de- 
signed to  illustrate  several  sides  of  the  social  life, 
both  native  and  foreign,  in  British  India.  At  a 
dinner  given  by  the  Vice-Chancellor  the  guests  were 
most  appropriately  selected  to  represent  the  differ- 
ent educational  interests  of  the  city  and  the  Presi- 
dency. Besides  the  officers  from  the  principal  af- 
filiated colleges,  Mr.  J.  J.  Tata,  the  host  of  the 
week  before,  and  Sir  (and  Lady)  Jehangir,  the  son 
of  the  man  who  gave  the  Convocation  Hall,  were 
present.  Of  the  men  connected  with  the  University, 
the  St.  Francis  Xavier  Fathers  seemed  much  the 
brightest  and  best  “up  with  the  times” ; the  native 
business  men  were  in  matters  of  general  infoi'mation 
most  worth  while  to  question.  Indeed  throughout 
all  the  Orient  I was  impressed  with  the  high  quality 
of  work  in  education  done  by  the  Jesuit  missionar- 
ies, and  by  the  rather  inferior  services  of  the  ap- 
pointees in  the  Government  educational  institutions. 
Perhaps  the  point  of  view  of  too  many  of  them  is 
illustrated  by  the  question  “speered  at”  a confi- 
dential friend  by  the  wife  of  the  President  of  the 
Government  College.  This  lady  was  most  anxious 
to  know  whether  “I  was  not  on  a money-making 
tour.”  When  she  was  assured  that  I was  travelling 


34  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

at  mj  own  charges  and  as  the  representative  of  my 
university,  she  seemed  much  surprised. 

The  dignified  bearing  and  quiet  culture  of  the  best 
of  the  Parsees  was  brought  to  our  notice  when  we 
were  at  Sir  Jehangir  Petit’s  for  afternoon  tea.  His 
house  is  a palace  most  beautifully  located  across  the 
road  from  the  sea.  Among  the  few  who  had  been 
invited  to  meet  us  were  one  of  the  St.  Xavier  Fathers 
— Sir  JehangiPs  son  is  a graduate  of  this  college 
— and  the  Protestant  missionary  to  the  Muhamma- 
dans, Rev.  Mr.  Davis.  The  son  had  prepared  a 
brief  outline  of  Parsee  doctrine  as  he  understood  it, 
which,  whether  a product  of  the  most  distinguished 
scholarship  or  not,  was  creditable  to  his  seriousness. 
So  was  the  small  but  carefully  selected  private  li- 
brary which  I was  shown.  Both  he  and  his  beau- 
tiful young  wife  were  constant  attendants  upon  the 
lectures  on  “the  philosophy  of  mind.” 

Quite  different,  but  in  a wTay  not  less  interesting, 
was  an  entertainment  given  to  us  in  the  mission- 
compound  where  we  were  guests.  Such  an  enter- 
tainment, I run  no  great  risk  in  affirming,  neither 
would,  nor  well  could,  have  been  afforded  outside  of 
India.  It  was  an  exhibition  of  a native  juggler  and 
snake-charmer.  The  entire  body  of  school  children 
were  seated  upon  mats  on  the  ground — boys  on  one 
side  and  girls  on  the  other — while  we  and  our  adult 
friends  occupied  chairs  at  the  end  of  the  verandah. 
The  juggler  had  three  assistants,  two  men  and  a 


THE  ENTIRE  BODY  OF  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 


Beautiful  Bombay 


35 


boy.  He  had  brought  an  assortment — perhaps  it 
would  not  be  impertinent  or  destructive  to  the  per- 
former’s professional  reputation  to  call  it  “a  job 
lot” — of  snakes,  consisting  of  two  cobras,  one  large 
and  one  small,  a large  mud  snake,  a water  snake,  and 
a small  snake  of  a species  not  known  to  any  one 
present.  A mongoose  was  tied  to  a stake  near  by. 
He  seemed  very  restless,  as  though  anticipating  a 
fight  with  one  of  the  cobras.  The  exhibition  of  this 
form  of  sport  was  offered  for  a not  extravagant 
extra  charge;  but  the  spectacle  was  thought  to  be 
altogether  too  bloody  and  otherwise  objectionable 
as  an  entertainment  for  children,  and  in  celebration 
of  a wedding  anniversary.  For  myself,  I must  con- 
fess I should  not  have  otherwise  been  unwilling  to 
see  it,  if  for  no  other  reason,  as  a study  in  animal 
craft  and  courage  from  the  psychological  point  of 
view.  But  Sir  Mongoose  had  a bit  of  a bag  slipped 
over  his  wagging  head,  and  thereupon  promptly  sub- 
sided. The  snakes  were  displayed ; but  the  slight 
teasing  given  to  the  cobras  did  not  seem  to  excite 
them  greatly ; and  since  all  the  skill  in  handling  is 
tested  by  the  temper  of  the  snake  at  the  moment, 
the  whole  affair  was  much  tamer  than  what  we  saw 
not  a few  times  later.  For  one  can  scarcely  be 
several  months  in  India  and  Ceylon  without  discov- 
ering that  a chapter  on  the  subject  of  snakes  in 
these  countries  cannot  be  so  brief  as  the  celebrated 
chapter  on  snakes  in  Ireland.  But  the  attitude  of 


36  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

the  common  people  toward  these  reptiles  is  a suffi- 
cient refutation  of  the  silly  biological  theory  de- 
vised to  explain  why  all  mankind  find  the  serpent 
fearsome  and  repulsive.  For  all  mankind  do  not. 
The  feelings  of  the  majority  of  the  primitive  races, 
and  of  the  people  most  familiar  with  the  serpent 
species  in  abundance,  are  not  chiefly  feelings  of  fear 
and  repulsion.  The  sight  of  a cobra  with  head 
raised  aloft  and  ready  to  strike  does  not  arouse 
in  one  the  feeling  of  “snakiness,”  but  the  rather  of 
mysterious  and  respectful  awe  (the  essence  of  snake- 
worship  ? ) . 

The  express  regulations  and,  indeed,  the  very 
constitution  of  the  University  of  Bombay  barred 
from  lectures  given  under  the  auspices  of  the  Uni- 
versity Senate  any  discussion  of  religious  matters 
in  dispute  among  the  different  affiliated  colleges. 
But  the  topic  announced  for  the  course  then  in 
progress  had  been  “The  Philosophy  of  Mind.”  Now 
the  nature  of  the  mind  or— to  use  the  term  familiar 
to  the  old-fashioned  psychology — the  soul,  is  of  no 
merely  speculative  interest  to  the  various  religions, 
and  even  to  the  rival  sects  of  Brahmans,  in  British 
and  native  India.  It  was,  therefore,  possible  for 
the  lecturer  to  treat  of  matters  having  the  keenest 
theoretical  as  well  as  practical  interest  to  all  his 
audience,  without  necessarily  arousing  criticism  for 
having  transgressed  the  limits  allowed  him  by  his 
imitation.  An  audience  so  heterogeneous  but  highly 


Beautiful  Bombay 


37 


intellectual  and  keenly  appreciative  of  nice  distinc- 
tions and  subtleties  of  argument  would  be  difficult 
to  find  outside  of  India.  The  severity  of  the  plague 
at  the  time  had  made  it  seem  wise  not  to  assembly 
as  yet  the  undergraduates  of  the  affiliated  colleges. 
The  text-books  which  had  been  the  subject  of  con- 
troversy were  set  for  examination  in  the  M.  A. 
courses.  The  audiences  which  gathered  were,  there- 
fore, chiefly  those  who  had  taken,  or  were  preparing 
to  take,  these  advanced  courses ; they  were,  indeed, 
largely  the  professional  men — lawyers,  physicians, 
teachers  in  the  government  and  missionary  schools, 
— graduates  who  were  in  the  government  offices  or 
in  business,  with  a sensible  number  of  Parsee  and 
English  ladies.  There  were  Brahmans  of  various 
castes,  Buddhists,  Jains,  Muhammadans,  Jesuit 
Fathers,  Christian  missionaries,  agnostic  English- 
men, and  perhaps  a sprinkling  of  scoffers  at  all 
forms  of  philosophic  opinion  as  useless  attempts  at 
the  solution  of  insoluble  and  unimportant  problems. 

The  friends  who  had  risked  something  in  secur- 
ing the  invitation — notably,  the  Vice-Chancellor  and 
Father  Bochum — were  obviously  somewhat  nervous 
over  the  success  of  their  scheme.  But  the  audience, 
from  the  first,  seemed  satisfied;  it  increased  by  sev- 
eral score  at  the  second  lecture;  then  steadily  held 
its  own  in  numbers  and  attention  to  the  end.  At 
the  close,  it  gave  its  “endorsement”  in  the  form  of 
the  concluding  address  of  the  Vice-Chancellor,  which 


38  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

the  younger  men  supplemented  in  a more  demon- 
strative way, — all  of  which  afforded  additional  im- 
petus to  the  plan  for  opening  the  doors  of  approach 
to  other  opportunities  in  Northern  and  Southern 
India. 

Of  excursions  from  Bombay  there  was  only  one 
which  had  any  particular  significance ; and  this  only 
by  way  of  illustrating  the  amusing  experiences  which 
await  the  traveller  essaying  to  untie  a bunch  of 
red  tape  in  India,  especially  when  the  knot  is  held 
in  native  hands.  We  had  received  an  invitation  to 
visit  the  caves  of  Elephanta — Gharapuri,  “town  of 
the  rock”  or  “of  purification,”  as  the  natives  call 
them — in  the  steam-launch  of  a friend  kindly  put  at 
our  disposal.  But  when,  after  some  difficulty  we  had 
discovered  the  proper  wharf  for  embarkation  with- 
out breach  of  law,  we  were  informed  that  we  could 
not  leave  even  for  a picnic  party  on  a neighboring 
island  without  a regular  “health  certificate.”  In  vain 
we  invoked  common-sense,  explained  that  we  could 
not  possibly  convey  plague  to  anything  but  the 
snakes  on  this  uninhabited  island,  and  offered  to  be 
inspected  by  the  officer  himself  or  to  inspect  one  an- 
other. It  was  of  no  use.  But  we  finally  obtained 
permission  to  be  examined  by  the  health  officer  at  the 
free  anchorage.  So  away— and  much  out  of  our  way 
— we  steamed,  dragging  a small  boat  after  us  since 
the  tide  was  to  be  low,  and  sought  out  a small  craft 
somewhat  like  an  exhausted  and  abandoned  canal 
boat,  moored  in  the  shallow  waters  amidst  a crowd 


Beautiful  Bombay 


39 


of  exceedingly  dirty  native  house-boats.  Here  was 
certainly  a good  place  to  get  plague,  if  indeed  it 
was  the  authorized  place  to  be  certified  as  still  ex- 
empt from  it.  After  a dignified  delay  the  officer  on 
board  this  disreputable  craft  gave  us  the  required 
release.  We  steamed  away  disgusted,  if  not  also 
infected. 

A detailed  description  of  the  caves  of  Elephanta 
may  be  found  in  the  guide-books;  we  reserve  the 
narrative  of  how  such  remarkable  structures  look, 
and  what  they  probably  mean,  for  a subsequent 
visit  to  the  much  more  unfrequented  but  notable  and 
wonderful  “caves  of  Ellora”  in  the  dominions  of  the 
Nizam. 

It  remains  now  to  give  some  account  of  more  or 
less  confidential  interviews  which  threw  light  on 
the  less  obvious  situation  in  matters  political  and 
religious,  at  that  time  in  India. 

When  we  had  been  in  Bombay  about  a fortnight 
I received  a call  from  Justice  Ranade  accompanied 
by  a young  man  who  seemed  to  act  as  a sort  of 
secretary.  Justice  Ranade  was  at  that  time  presi- 
dent of  the  Social  Reform  Congress,  and  the  most 
distinguished  and  influential  of  the  would-be  re- 
formers in  the  Bombay  Presidency.  At  first  he 
seemed  disinclined  to  talk  of  the  political  situation 
or  of  the  plans  for  improvement  formed  or  con- 
templated by  the  Association  of  which  he  was  the 
president. 

On  being  courteously  questioned,  however,  to 


40 


Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

favor  me  with  his  views,  Justice  Ranade  began  his 
reply  by  questioning  me  about  Japan,  and  mani- 
fested the  keenest  and  most  intelligent  interest  in 
all  that  I could  tell  him  about  the  social  and  politi- 
cal condition  and  progress  of  this  Oriental  people. 
Even  in  his  judicial  mind,  however,  no  clearcut  defi- 
nite plans  existed,  as  to  just  how  the  confessedly 
needed  reforms  were  to  be  brought  about  in  India ; 
until,  at  least,  there  had  been  a great  improvement 
in  the  character  for  probity,  honorable  spirit  of 
self-respect  and  self-dependence,  on  the  part  of  the 
educated  nati’ve  population.  In  these  important  re- 
spects, India  was  then,  and  is  now,  very  different 
from  Japan.  He  urged  my  presence  at  the  National 
Congress  which  was  to  meet  at  Lucknow,  December 
26th-29th.  With  this  invitation  other  engagements 
did  not  permit  me  to  comply. 

A subsequent  visit  from  Mr.  Malabari  was  much 
more  fruitful  in  informing  and  persuading  the  mind 
of  the  listener.  Mr.  Malabari  was  reckoned  by  all 
one  of  the  most  truly  Christian  (though  not  in 
name)  reformers  in  all  India.  So  profoundly  trust- 
ed was  he  that,  although  he  was  a very  frank  and 
earnest  critic  of  the  British  Government,  it  was  said 
that  his  card  would  secure  a private  interview  with 
the  Viceroy  in  preference  to  almost  any  other  man. 
Mr.  Malabari  was  a Parsee;  but  his  work  had  been 
principally  for  the  political  and  social  welfare  of 
the  Hindus.  I summarize  this  most  enlightening  of 


Beautiful  Bombay 


41 


all  confidential  interviews  touching  such  subjects,  in 
the  following  points. 

(1)  The  worst  and  most  hopeless  cause  of  the 
social  and  spiritual  degradation  of  the  Hindus  is 
the  dreadful  estate  of  their  women.  They  have  no 
respect  or  confidence  on  the  part  of  their  husbands 
and  sons ; they  are  not  fit  to  become  wives  and 
mothers.  The  chief  and  most  difficult  enemy  of  their 
intellectual  and  social  elevation  is  the  Brahmans, 
who  keep  the  women  ignorant  and  degraded,  in 
order  that  they  may  maintain  their  influence  over 
them  and  through  them.  The  case  of  the  Muham- 
madans is  much  better  on  the  whole ; this  is  espe- 
cially true  of  the  genuine  Muhammadans  of  North- 
ern India.  In  Bengal  the  Muhammadan  is  only  a 
thinly  varnished  Hindu.  In  their  circles  there  are 
many  cases  of  much  more  of  family  life  and  of 
“spiritual”  intercourse  between  husband  and  wife. 
The  case  of  the  Hindu  in  modern  India  has  abun- 
dance of  historical  illustration  everywhere  in  the 
whole  earth.  Everywhere  it  has  been  the  priest  and 
the  woman  who  have  been  the  so-called  “conserva- 
tives,” if  combined  for  good,  too  often  also  com- 
bined as  the  enemies  of  all  true  progress. 

(2)  The  Parsees  are  in  comparison  with  their 
numbers  the  most  influential  natives  in  India.  But 
they  are  quite  worldly  and  “unspiritual in  only  a 
few  families  are  the  highest  relations  maintained 
between  husband  and  wife.  As  to  religion,  a few 


42  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

of  the  old  people  are  trying  to  maintain  the  ancient 
forms  and  doctrines  which  they  consider  orthodox. 
In  fact,  there  is  now  no  such  thing  among  them  as 
a pure  ancient  Zoroastrianism.  They  seem  destined 
in  the  world  at  large  to  lose  their  distinctive  char- 
acter and  become  absorbed  in  the  Jews,  Christians, 
Muhammadans,  and  Hindus,  with  whom  they  have 
intermingled. 

(3)  Mr.  Malabari  expressed  a high  respect  for 
the  Hindu  character.  They  are  all — as  of  the  very 
life-blood  and  most  ancient  tradition — practical 
philosophers,  or  “brooders”  over  the  problems  of 
reality,  life  and  destiny.  This  is  true  of  the  cooly 
who  earns  his  few  pence  by  day  and  lies  down  in 
his  cloth  at  night  to  think.  His  conclusion  runs  like 
this:  “Am  I poor  and  miserable?  Is  death  at  my 
door,  or  already  over  the  threshold?  What  matters 
it?  This  is  not  my  real  life.  It  will  soon  be  over. 
Why  resent  or  resist  it?”  Mr.  Malabari  went  so  far 
as  to  say  that  he  considered  the  Hindu  character 
as  much  more  akin  and  genuinely  respondent  to  es- 
sential Christianity  than  is  that  of  the  Anglo-Saxon. 

(4)  As  to  the  British  Government  in  India  Mr. 
Malabari  made  some  most  striking  observations. 
Never  before  have  I heard  anyone  enunciate  so 
clearly  the  truth  to  which  I have  persistently  called 
attention  in  our  own  international  relations.  The 
conquered  or  subject  lower  races  which  stand  in  the 
relations  of  India  to  England,  as  to  a superior  and 


Beautiful  Bombay 


43 


dominant  race,  always  serve  as  a downward  drag. 
“Today,”  said  he,  “not  only  is  India  becoming 
Anglicized,  but  England  is  becoming  Indianized. 
The  vices  of  India  are  penetrating  England  at  home. 
The  many  virtues  of  the  English  rule  in  India,  and 
the  obvious  benefits  of  it  are  marred  by  arrogance 
of  demeanor,  and  by  a certain  trickiness  and  excess 
of  diplomacy  where  the  interests  of  the  Government 
are  thought  to  be  at  stake.  The  higher  officials  are 
generally  men  of  capacity  and  integrity  of  char- 
acter. But  in  the  country  and  hill  places,  away 
from  easy  inspection,  many  of  the  English  officials 
lead  indecent  lives,  which  greatly  discredit  Chris- 
tianity. 

In  conclusion,  Mr.  Malabari  expressed  the  opin- 
ion, in  which  not  a few  Western  ethnologists  agree, 
that  a final  product  of  really  Christian  civilization 
may  some  day  arise  out  of  the  mingling  of  East  and 
West. 

From  another  less  lofty  and  “spiritual”  point  of 
view  the  British  Government  of  India  was  being 
criticized  severely  that  winter  by  the  natives.  One 
of  the  wealthy  mill-owners  had  conducted  us  through 
his  mills  in  which  cloths  of  silk  were  made  for 
Northern  India,  Burmah,  and  neighboring  regions. 
These  mills  employed  from  eight  hundred  to  nine 
hundred  hands,  at  average  wages  of  fifteen  rupees 
(about  five  dollars)  a month.  Eight  rupees  will 
support  a family  of  five  in  the  meanest,  most  beastly 


44 


Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

fashion;  twelve  rupees,  in  fair  condition.  Sir 
Jamsetjee  gave  a most  gloomy  account  of  the  busi- 
ness conditions  and  prospects.  Ruin  had  already 
met,  or  was  staring  in  the  face,  the  business  men  of 
Bombay.  On  January  next  all,  or  nearly  all,  the 
eighty  mills  of  the  city  would  be  obliged  to  shut  down 
and  their  80,000  operatives  would  be  out  of  work. 
“What,”  he  asked,  “wTith  this  and  plague  and  famine 
is  coming  to  this  doomed  city?  Meanwhile  all  the 
wealthy,  instead  of  using  their  resources  to  meet  the 
emergency,  are  asked  to  subscribe  to  the  Transvaal 
war-fund.  There,  in  South  Africa,  England  is 
spending  £200,000  a day  in  this  most  unnecessary 
war.”  In  view  of  these  and  similar  criticisms,  how- 
ever just  they  seemed  or  really  were  at  the  time, 
it  is  most  significant  to  note  the  loyalty  of  both 
India  and  South  Africa  in  the  present  war. 

In  the  minds  of  the  leaders  and  of  the  common 
people  of  India  religion  is  most  intimately,  even 
inseparably,  connected  with  all  social  and  political 
affairs.  Religion  is  the  gift,  the  genius  of  the  race. 
But  the  dominant  religion  of  Hinduism  has  been 
degraded  and  even  made  vicious  and  repulsive  by  the 
doctrine  and  practice  of  caste.  It  should  be  under- 
stood that,  so  far  as  his  religious  views,  apart  from 
caste,  are  concerned,  the  Hindu  is  the  freest  of  all 
men  within  the  limits  of  his  churchly  communion. 
He  may  be  any  kind  of  a theist  or  pantheist,  or  even 
an  atheist  or  a Christian,  in  his  beliefs,  and  remain 


Beautiful  Bombay  45 

an  orthodox  Hindu,  if  he  does  not  break  caste. 
As  has  already  been  said,  it  is  the  priests  and  the 
women  who  hold  in  their  hands  the  keys  to  the 
prison-house  of  caste. 

But  religious  reforms  of  various  kinds  and  de- 
grees have  been  mooted  and  tried  in  India,  through 
the  centuries  of  its  religious  history,  but  especially 
of  late  years.  For  Buddhism  and  Jainism  are  both 
the  results  of  attempts  at  the  reform  of  Hinduism. 
He  who  does  not  understand  something  of  the  re- 
ligions and  religious  thoughts  and  feelings  of  the 
people  of  India,  has  not  taken  the  first  step  toward 
a real  understanding  of  anything  in  India.  We 
must,  then,  make  frequent  observations  and  notes 
by  the  way,  on  this  side  of  belief  and  life,  as  we 
travel  together  through  India. 

It  was  before  breakfast  one  November  morning 
that  I received  a visit  from  a man  whose  “religious 
conversation”  was  so  entertaining  and  instructive 
that  an  hour’s  delay  at  that  meal  was  a most  wel- 
come experience.  I have  seldom  talked  with  any- 
one whose  views  on  the  profounder  problems  of 
Theism,  revelation,  and  God’s  relations  to  the 
world,  agreed  more  closely  with  my  own  than  did 
those  of  Professor  Bhandarkar  of  Bombay.  But 
he  criticized  most  frankly,  though  not  bitterly,  his 
own  countrymen,  who  are  kept  back  from  receiving 
the  truth  from  others  or  discovering  it  for  them- 
selves, chiefly  by  intellectual  indolence, — unwilling- 


46  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

ness  to  think  for  themselves  and  a preference  to  fol- 
low tradition  or  any  one  of  their  own  number  who 
might  set  himself  up  for  a leader,  quite  uncritically. 
Caste,  pride,  and  a feeling  of  opposition  to  Euro- 
pean dominance  in  politics  and  in  thought  were  other 
influences  opposed  to  progress. 

That  has  happened  to  the  religious  reformers  in 
India  which  is  apt  to  happen  to  all  reformers,  re- 
ligious and  otherwise,  everywhere.  They  are  con- 
tinually quarreling  among  themselves  and  breaking 
into  subordinate  sects.  Since,  however,  the  reform 
movement  is  much  more  intelligent  and  influential  in 
Calcutta  than  in  Bombay,  and  since  in  the  later 
place  we  were  brought  into  closer  personal  relations 
with  the  leaders  of  reform  themselves,  anything  fur- 
ther on  this  important  subject  may  well  be  post- 
poned. The  particular  theistic  reform  association 
about  Bombay  at  that  time  was  called  “Parthana 
Somaj,”  or  “Prayer  Church.”  It  comprised  some 
excellent  and  noble  men,  but  was  not  making  much 
progress  or  exercising  any  considerable  influence  of 
any  sort. 

A nobler  band  of  missionaries  does  not  exist  upon 
the  face  of  the  earth  than  are  to  be  found  in  British 
India ; and  nowhere  else  are  they  so  cordially  wel- 
comed and  actively  assisted  by  the  Government  in 
power.  Exceptions  must,  of  course,  be  made,  like 
the  good  old  lady  in  Poona,  who,  on  remarking  with 
a pious  demeanor  that  she  was  praying  for  Dr. 


Beautiful  Bombay 


47 


Barrows  lest  he  might  encourage  too  much  the  Viva 
Ivananda  party,  and  being  told  in  reply,  “Dr.  Bar- 
rows  is  much  obliged,  for  he  needs  all  your  prayers, 
and  he  also  will  be  praying  for  the  missionaries  of 
Poona,”  was  speechless  with  surprise  and  dissatis- 
faction at  the  very  thought. 

The  friends  who  came  to  bid  us  good-bye  when  we 
left  Bombay  by  the  night  train  of  December  15th, 
told  us  that  the  evening  papers  reported  200  as  the 
toll  exacted  that  day  by  the  dread  reaper.  This 
required  that  the  plague  should  be,  somewhat  offi- 
cially, pronounced  “epidemic.”  But  through  all 
that  dreadful  winter  the  death-rate  rose  steadily 
until  on  certain  days  it  reached  the  appalling  total 
of  499.  That  it  never  once  leaped  over  the  barrier 
set  by  that  one  number,  and  reached  a total  of  500, 
seemed  little  less  than  due  to  some  mysterious  dic- 
tate in  the  councils  of  the  angry  gods. 


CHAPTER  III 


/ 


TWO  NOTABLE  CEREMONIALS 

■pv  URING  our  stay  in  Bombay  we  were  present 
at  two  native  ceremonials,  one  of  which  had 
never,  and  the  other  rarely  or  never,  been  witnessed 
by  foreign  eyes.  The  occasions  of  these  ceremonials 
were  as  far  apart  as  are  death  and  marriage.  In 
the  one  case  the  celebrants  were  a rather  low  caste, 
but  wealthy  Brahman;  in  the  other,  a Parsee  couple. 
As  in  most  Brahmanical  ceremonials,  so  in  this,  a 
slavish  but  not  altogether  disinterested  deference 
to  the  priest  was  displayed  in  ways  to  emphasize  the 
wealth  of  the  layman  who  could  afford  thus  to  con- 
trol the  services  of  his  religious  superior.  On  the 
contrary,  the  Parsee  wedding-ceremony  was  so  con- 
ducted in  the  public  grounds  and  buildings  belonging 
to  the  religious  community  as  to  illustrate  and  sym- 
bolize the  same  principle  of  religious  brotherhood 
which  dominates  the  structure  and  ceremonies  of  the 
Towers  of  Silence. 

The  invitation  to  the  “Eleventh  Monthly  Cere- 
monial” in  memoriam  of  the  deceased  wife  of  Mr. 
Tribhowandas  Mungaldas  Nathubai  came  in  an  ex- 

48 


Two  Notable  Ceremonials 


49 


ceedingly  unexpected  and  somewhat  fortuitous  man- 
ner. This  function  was  very  important  in  at  least 
two  different  ways.  It  was  the  last  and  most  im- 
posing of  a series  of  such  ceremonials ; and  after 
its  completion  only  was  Mr.  Tribhowandas  at  liberty 
to  marry  again.  But  since  this  was  to  be  his  third 
venture,  it  was  desirable  when  permission  was  ob- 
tained, to  go  through  the  not  unpleasant  fiction  of 
being  married  to  a sacred  tree!  For  the  third  mar- 
riage is  very  unlucky ; and  the  life  or  death  of  the 
bridal  tree  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  delay  of 
marriage  number  four,  or  of  any  subsequent  higher 
number. 

The  invitation  to  the  “Death  Ceremonial”  was 
given  while  we  were  engaged  in  the  work  of  im- 
proving another  invitation.  We  had  been  urged 
to  visit  the  temples  and  burning-ghat  of  the  Kapola 
Banian  caste,  of  which  our  proferred  escort  was  the 
president  and  principal  lay-head  in  Bombay.  This 
caste  is  chiefly  composed  of  merchants ; but  an  an- 
cestor of  Mr.  Tribhowandas  had  been  the  principal 
founder  and  patron  of  the  temples  and  their  sur- 
roundings. It  was  explained  in  the  carriage  on  the 
way  that  long  ago  there  was  a little  temple  on  the 
spot  at  which  the  god  Ram  arrived  when  he  was 
perishing  with  thirst.  But  he  shot  an  arrow,  and 
where  it  struck  a mighty  spring  of  water  came  to 
be.  We  were  shown  the  spring  as  historical  proof 
of  the  miracle;  but  our  skeptical  missionary  friend 


50 


Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  m India 

insisted  that  the  spring  was  a cistern,  and  that  the 
water  was  rain-water.  In  the  “place  of  burning,” 
all  the  bodies  are  cremated  except  those  of  the  very 
young  (children  under  eighteen  months,  or  “until 
their  teeth  are  cut”),  and  of  the  Yogis  and  very 
holy  men.  The  children  need  no  “purification  by 
fire,”  since  they  have  not  sinned ; and  the  holy  men 
have  already  attained  the  purity  of  soul  necessary 
for  entering  Nirvana.  But  their  skulls  are  crushed 
by  a blow  on  the  top,  and  this  suffices  to  let  escape 
the  soul.  On  being  questioned  as  to  the  meaning 
of  Nirvana,  Mr.  Tribhowandas  said  that  his  caste 
generally  consider  it  to  be  annihilation ; but  he  him- 
self could  not  subscribe  to  that,  since  nothing  per- 
ishes ; all  is  endless  motion.  However,  on  defining 
himself  further,  he  admitted  that  individual  existence 
might  cease ; but  so  much  of  God  as  constituted  the 
soul  would  have  to  continue  to  be. 

In  this  burning-ghat,  which  is  very  old  now  and 
comparatively  disused, — its  possession  seeming  to 
be  in  a few  of  the  more  wealthy  families,  and  so 
rather  exclusive — there  were  perhaps  twenty-five 
or  thirty  tombs  and  monuments.  Some  of  them  are 
raised  to  wealthy  or  distinguished  members  of  the 
caste,  w’ho  were  not  Brahmans  or  Yogis;  but  in  such 
cases  there  are  no  remains  buried  beneath.  Others 
of  them  are  tombs  of  devotees  or  saints,  whose  bodies 
may  be  buried  underneath  in  a sitting  posture.  We 
were  gravely  informed  that  these  holy  men  had  so 


Two  Notable  Ceremonials 


51 


lived  that  they  had  drawn  their  souls  entirely  into 
their  heads ; and  so,  when  the  blow  which  crushed 
their  skulls  was  administered,  the  whole  soul  easily 
escaped  upward.  The  apparatus  for  cremation  was 
very  crude : it  consisted  of  two  broad  and  large 
andirons  and  two  iron  posts  about  five  feet  high  and 
two  inches  in  diameter.  These  posts  are  erected 
at  the  comers  of  a square.  On  these  andirons  a pile 
of  wood  is  laid  and  the  cremation  takes  place  ac- 
cording to  a formula  described  in  a pamphlet  which 
our  host  had  caused  to  be  prepared.  He  was  very 
careful  to  have  us  admire  the  tomb  erected  by  him 
to  his  father,  which  took  the  shape  of  a drinking- 
trough  for  the  sacred  cows. 

We  were  next  shown  the  temples,  in  all  of  which 
there  prevailed  the  unwholesome  mixture  of  magnifi- 
cence with  filth  and  tawdriness  which  is  so  charac- 
teristic of  Hinduism.  Elaborate  carved  silver  doors 
opened  to  disclose  insignificant  and  cheap  idols  with- 
in. The  idols  were  worshipped  for  our  benefit  with- 
out any  difficulty ; for  they  stood  or  sat  still  and 
seemed  to  pay  no  heed.  But  to  worship  the  sacred 
cows  properly  was  not  so  easy  a matter.  For  to 
tell  the  sad  truth,  the  cows  did  not  seem  to  like  to 
be  worshipped.  The  one' cow  most  amenable  to  this 
show  of  reverence  immediately  shook  off  the  flowers 
laid  on  her  head  and  the  holy  water  poured  upon 
her  head,  her  back,  and  her  four  hoofs. 

Here  we  got  our  first  sight  close  by  of  the  lower 


52 


Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

and  more  disgusting  grade  of  the  so-called  Yogi. 
Three  of  these  devotees  were  encountered  seated  on 
the  ground  just  opposite  a temple  to  Shiva.  One  of 
them,  an  old  man,  was  diligently  reading  a sacred 
text  and  did  not  deign  to  notice  us.  But  the  other 
two  were  ready  enough  to  exhibit  themselves.  Nearly 
naked,  smeared  with  ashes,  with  countenances  half- 
way between  idiocy  and  insanity,  with  matted  long 
and  filthy  hair,  they  sat  smoking  an  intoxicating 
drug.  On  being  questioned  as  to  the  genuineness  of 
their  locks,  with  a leer,  they  shook  out  the  snake-like 
braids  and  pulled  at  them  violently  to  show  that 
they  would  not  come  loose. 

In  several  of  the  temples,  or  shrines,  the  lingam 
was  being  made  the  object  of  worship;  in  one,  it 
was  carved  profusely  with  blossoms  of  flowers,  and 
in  another  a perpetual  tiny  stream  of  water  was 
being  poured  upon  it  as  a petition  to  the  god  of 
rain.  The  number  of  Brahmans  thronging  the  place 
everywhere  was  large ; but  more  than  half  of  them 
were  boys  who  had  apparently  just  been  “initiated,” 
as  the  sacred  cord  made  of  twenty-seven  strands  and 
thrown  over  the  left  shoulder  plainly  indicated. 

On  the  way  home  we  received  two  additional  in- 
vitations, one  to  allow  the  owner  to  exhibit  his  house 
that  very  afternoon ; the  other  to  come  the  follow- 
ing day  and  witness  “the  feeding  of  the  Brahmans.” 
On  accepting  the  first  of  these  invitations,  we  were 
greeted  at  the  entrance  by  a daughter  of  our  host, 


Two  Notable  Ceremonials 


53 


a very  pretty  girl  of  sixteen,  whom  her  father  had 
shown  his  independence  by  keeping  unmarried  until 
so  late  an  age,  and  who  carried  herself  with  as 
modest  yet  self-possessed  demeanor  as  would  have 
been  shown  by  a well-trained  English  girl  of  the 
same  age.  She  remained  in  the  immense  drawing- 
room to  which  we  at  once  ascended,  even  after  the 
crowd  of  men  belonging  to  the  family  had  assembled 
to  be  introduced.  But  the  married  women  did  not 
appear  until  after  the  men  had  departed ; although 
they,  too,  came  down  the  stairs  and  bade  us  “good 
night,”  even  shaking  hands  with  me.  This  distinc- 
tion between  the  woman’s  freedom  of  behavior  with 
foreign  gentlemen  and  with  her  own  countrymen,  is 
common  in  the  best  native  social  circles  throughout 
India.  In  his  case,  Mr.  Tribhowandas  explained  it 
by  saying:  “I  belong  to  a very  orthodox  caste;  but  I 
am  myself  very  liberal  in  my  actions.” 

Mr.  Tribhowandas,  like  Justice  Ranade,  expressed 
great  admiration  for  the  way  in  which  Japan  was 
making  progress  as  a nation,  and  he  bitterly  la- 
mented the  lack  of  unity  in  India,  while  entertaining 
the  hope  of  India’s  sometime  becoming  a united  and 
independent  people. 

If  nothing  especially  interesting  or  informing  came 
of  the  first  of  the  two  invitations  given  on  the  way 
home  from  the  burning-ghat,  the  same  thing  cannot 
be  said  of  that  which  bade  us  as  onlookers  to  “the 
feeding  of  the  Brahmans.”  For  this  enabled  us  to 


54 


Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

witness  an  elaborate  caste  ceremonial  which  had 
never  before  fallen  under  observation  by  profane 
eyes. 

On  arrival  we  were  at  once  conducted  by  a ser- 
vant to  our  host,  and  by  our  host  to  the  garden. 
Here  about  one  hundred  Brahmans  of  this  caste 
were  assembled,  seated  in  a double  row  upon  the 
ground,  with  a considerable  number  of  their  women 
and  children  seated  apart.  Most  of  the  men  had 
around  their  loins  the  silk  cloth  which  signified  that 
they  were  purified  and  ready  to  feast;  but  some — 
presumably  the  poorer — wore  only  a cloth  of  not 
very  clean  cotton.  The  feasting  itself  was  viewed 
from  the  windows  of  the  house  which  overlooked  that 
part  of  the  garden.  A son  of  the  host  poured  water 
from  his  hands  upon  the  ground,  after  which  a 
short  mantra,  called  “Sankalpa”  or  “an  auspicious 
song,”  was  chanted  aloud.  Each  Brahman,  before  he 
began  to  eat,  poured  a little  water  and  strewed  a 
little  rice  upon  the  ground,  as  an  offering  to  the 
earth;  after  which  he  “fell  to”  in  a manner  to  show 
that,  with  due  opportunity  offered,  he  could  prove 
himself  no  mean  “trencher  man.”  The  food  con- 
sisted of  fried  flour-cakes,  pulse  soup,  rice,  several 
vegetable  curries,  and  sweet-meats.  They  fed  them- 
selves with  their  (purified?)  fingers,  and  in  drinking 
took  pains  that  the  water  should  be  poured  into  the 
throat  without  being  contaminated  by  touching  the 
lips.  One  elderly  Brahman  was  observed  to  be  eat- 


Two  Notable  Ceremonials 


55 


ing  with  the  left  hand  only,  the  right  being  covered 
with  a cloth.  To  eat  only  in  some  especially  incon- 
venient fashion — for  example,  by  carrying  the  hand 
to  the  mouth  under  the  leg— is  supposed  to  be 
especially  meritorious. 

After  witnessing  the  part  of  the  ceremonial  to 
which  alone  we  had  been  duly  bidden — namely,  “the 
feeding  of  the  Brahmans” — we  were  asked  to  re- 
turn to  the  drawing-room  that  we  might  take  leave 
of  our  host,  who  had  already  left  us  to  greet  the 
Shankara-charya  or  high-priest  of  the  sect  who  was 
to  perform  the  “Death  Ceremonial”  according  to  the 
requirements  of  the  Capola  Bania  caste.  On  taking 
Mr.  Tribhowandas’  hand,  I asked,  partly  in  a spirit 
of  experiment,  mixed  with  a certain  amount  of 
amused  naivete,  and  partly  with  a quite  legitimate 
and  sympathetic  curiosity,  whether  we  (strangers 
and  heathen)  were  to  remain  to  any  part  of  the 
ceremony.  The  question  seemed  to  occasion  no 
little  embarrassment ; but  after  a moment’s  hesita- 
tion, the  reply  was,  that  inquiry  would  be  made.  I 
have  no  information  as  to  how  many  extra  rupees 
had  to  be  bestowed  upon  the  high-priest  to  obtain 
his  consent ; but  when  our  host  returned,  to  our 
great  gratification  and  surprise,  we  were  conducted 
to  the  place  of  honor  on  the  right  hand  of  the 
dais. 

It  should  be  explained  that,  on  passing  through 
the  drawing-room  to  reach  the  window  from  which 


56  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

the  “feeding”  was  observed,  we  had  been  shown  the 
details  of  arrangement  for  the  religious  ceremonial, 
and  had  had  much  of  their  meaning  explained. 

The  room  prepared  for  the  ceremonial  was  very 
large  for  a private  house,  being  not  less  than  forty 
by  eighty  feet  in  size.  The  great  carpet  in  the 
center  was  folded  back,  so  ks  to  give  access  to  the 
chairs  and  sofas  arranged  around  the  wall  on  the 
bare  stone-floor;  this  was  explained  to  be  a precau- 
tion lest  the  woolen  of  the  carpet  should  gather  and 
transmit  defilement  to  the  holy  men  who  might  hap- 
pen to  come  in  contact  with  it.  At  one  end  of  the 
room  a platform  or  dais  was  raised  some  five  inches, 
and  on  it  were  two  elegantly  carved  chairs  and  a 
sofa  for  the  spiritual  leader  of  the  community.  In 
front  of  the  dais  stood  a round  center-table.  On 
the  table  was  a silver  salver,  and  on  the  salver  small 
silver  bowls  containing  milk,  sugar,  carmine  pigment 
for  the  caste-mark,  curds,  rice,  honey,  and  shredded 
saffron.  Here  also  was  a silver  holder  for  incense- 
sticks,  with  the  sacred  figure  of  the  elephant,  a sil- 
ver censer,  a small  font  with  a ladle,  and  a bountiful 
supply  of  flowers.  All  these  were  for  the  worship 
of  the  Shankara-charya. 

Before  the  appearance  of  the  high-priest,  the 
rooms  had  been  filled  with  the  devotees  of  the  caste, 
— the  prominent  Hindu  males  seated  on  the  chairs 
and  sofas  ranged  against  the  wall,  the  Brahmans  on 
the  floor,  and  just  opposite  us  in  a group  apart,  the 


Two  Notable  Ceremonials  57 

women  and  children  of  the  family.  Not  long  after 
all  wrere  seated  there  was  a slight  commotion  at  the 
door,  and  the  priest  appeared  with  several  at- 
tendants, one  of  whom  carried  a long  silver  mace  in 
his  hand,  while  another  swung  a brush  of  long  hair 
over  his  sacred  head,  to  warn  away  the  flies.  He  was 
a strikingly  handsome  man  of  apparently  about 
thirty-five  years  of  age, — shapely  in  limb  and  with 
strong  and  manly  features  (evidently  of  pure  Indo- 
Aryan  stock).  His  cloth  was  of  a light  salmon 
color  and  his  turban  of  the  same  color  trimmed  with 
gold.  He  strode  rapidly  forward  across  the  car- 
pet, instead  of  avoiding  it,  although  his  feet  were 
protected  from  pollution  by  wooden  geta ; and  at 
once  seated  himself  in  Turkish  fashion  upon  the 
sofa.  On  his  left  hand  stationed  themselves  the 
man  with  the  silver  mace,  the  Brahman  who  was  to 
recite  the  ritual,  and  several  other  attendants.  Be- 
hind him  stood  the  boy  with  the  brush  diligently  oc- 
cupied in  keeping  off"  the  flies.  The  space  in  front 
of  us  was  courteously  kept  clear  in  order  that  we 
might  the  better  observe  the  ceremony. 

The  “Death  Ceremonial”  (?)  was  begun  by  bring- 
ing in  a large  silver  salver  which  was  set  down  just 
below  the  feet  of  the  priest,  and  on  it  his  sandals,  be- 
ing removed,  were  carefully  and  reverently  placed. 
The  priest  then  rested  his  right  foot,  now  bare,  upon 
the  sandal,  still  keeping  his  left  foot  under  him.  Mr. 
Tribhowandas  squatted  on  the  dais  at  the  right, 


58  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

and  the  ceremonial  began  by  the  Brahman  in 
attendance,  who  was  seated  opposite,  chanting 
mantras,  or  sacred  verses  from  the  Sanskrit  scrip- 
tures. Then  followed  the  worship  of  the  priest’s 
right  foot,  particularly  his  right  toe,  with  all  the 
honors  paid  to  any  divine  being  among  the  Hindu 
divinities.  This  bodily  member  was  crowned  with 
blossoms  of  flowers ; and  over  it  were  poured  stores 
of  milk,  curds,  honey,  and  water:  it  was  anointed 
with  the  kunku  (carmine-colored  pigment);  and 
from  time  tb  time  it  was  respectfully  wiped  with  a 
towel.  This  worship  was  performed  both  by  our 
host  and  by  the  priestly  attendant,  or  rather  by  our 
host  in  imitation  of  the  attendant.  For  although 
Mr.  Tribhowandas  had  published  a pamphlet  in  his 
name  treating  of  the  whole  affair,  he  did  not  seem 
himself  to  be  very  familiar  with  its  details  in  an 
available  practical  way.  This  part  of  the  cere- 
monial over,  however,  he  had  his  own  forehead 
anointed  with  the  carmine  mark  of  the  caste,  and 
then  the  same  “sealing  of  the  forehead”  was  offered 
to  such  of  the  faithful  as  desired  to  receive  it.  But 
it  was  noticed  that  an  entire  sofa  full  of  the  lay- 
brethren  declined  to  be  thus  decorated. 

The  next  stage  of  this  “Death  Ceremonial”  was 
undoubtedly  more  interesting  to  many  of  the  spec- 
tators, and,  it  is  not  unlikely,  to  the  Shankara- 
charya  himself.  It  consisted  in  the  distribution  of 
gifts.  About  the  shoulders  of  the  high-priest  was 


Two  Notable  Ceremonials 


59 


thrown  an  exquisite  camel’s-hair  shawl,  of  soft  yel- 
low color  with  dark  reddish  embroidery ; and  about 
the  shoulders  of  the  attendant  Brahman  a shawl 
of  carmine  color.  Upon  a silver  plate  Mr.  Trib- 
howandas  poured  out  a store  of  rupees,  and  was 
followed  in  this  enforced  “collection”  by  his  sons 
and  daughter,  until  no  less  than  rupees  fifty  were 
piled  upon  the  plate.  Meanwhile,  a largess  of  ten 
and  a quarter  annas  was  distributed  to  each  of  the 
Brahmans  present.  The  extra  quarter-anna  was 
added  in  order  that  the  gift,  being  properly  some 
multiple  of  five,  might  be  in  “good  measure,  pressed 
down,  and  running  over.”  Then  garlands  were 
thrown  around  the  shoulders  of  the  high-priest,  a 
huge  bouquet  was  placed  in  his  hand ; and  the  man 
with  the  silver  mace  cried  with  a loud  voice:  ‘“Sal- 
utation to  the  Maha-raja;  let  all  the  people  do  him 
reverence.”  At  which  the  people  gave  a shout  in 
response. 

It  was,  however,  the  concluding  part  of  this  amaz- 
ing ceremonial,  which  although  it  was  most  uninter- 
esting to  the  faithful  present,  was  of  all  the  most 
interesting  to  me.  It  was  the  sermon ; and  this  in 
most  religious  services  that  make  much  of  cere- 
monial, is  usually  most  uninteresting.  For  “sub- 
stance of  doctrine,”  as  it  came  to  me  when  translated 
from  Sanskrit  into  Hindustani  and  from  Hindustani 
into  English,  if  its  substance  (as  I have  no  reason  to 
doubt)  was  faithfully  preserved,  the  claims  of 


60  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

this  Hindu  priest  were  not  radically  variant  from 
the  claims  made  by  the  most  rigidly  orthodox  of 
every  sect  of  all  the  religions,  in  behalf  of  their 
own  scriptures  to  be  the  sole  possessors  of  infallible 
truth.  Before  beginning,  the  preacher  sent  to  ask 
me  on  what  topic  I wished  to  have  him  discourse! 
Surely  here  was  a test  of  good  and  ready  crafts- 
manship, to  which  few  of  any  similar  craft  would 
wish  to  expose  themselves.  But  I was  not  to  be 
outdone  by  the  inquirer  in  the  graciousness  of  my 
reply  to  the  inquiry.  “We  should  all  wish  him  in 
this  important  matter  to  please  himself.”  He  then 
commenced  speaking  in  the  most  fluent  manner,  tak- 
ing for  his  text  a paragraph  from  the  Vedas  and 
then  translating  the  paragraph  from  its  original 
Sanskrit  into  Hindustani.  After  this  he  spoke  in 
Sanskrit  to  the  initiated  only. 

The  discourse  began  with  praise  of  the  Vedas, 
the  sacred  and  infallible  scriptures  of  the  Hindu 
religion.  The  Vedas  are  the  original,  sole,  and  im- 
peccable source  of  true  religion.  They  point  out 
the  way  to  salvation,  and  there  is  no  other  way  than 
that  which  they  point  out.  Whoever  walks  in  this 
way  and  does  as  the  Vedas  instruct  him,  he  has  the 
true  religion ; he  is  safe ; he  will  attain  Nirvana. 
But  whoever  departs  from  this  way,  his  religion  is 
false,  and  he  will  not  attain  salvation  but  will  surely 
be  punished  both  in  this  life  and  in  the  life  to  come. 
But  whereas  most  men  are  ignorant  and  cannot 


Two  Notable  Ceremonials 


61 


understand  the  Vedas,  and  therefore  cannot  of  them- 
selves know  the  way  of  salvation,  the  Brahman  knows 
the  way.  He  gives  all  his  time,  his  entire  life  to  the 
study  of  these  things.  He  is  therefore  to  be  believed 
and  obeyed,  and  his  instructions  are  to  be  followed  in 
every  particular.  He  who  disobeys  the  voice  of  the 
Brahman  or  refuses  to  learn  of  him,  and  follow  in  the 
path  as  the  Brahman  directs,  he  cannot  find  the  way 
of  salvation,  but  is  of  necessity  blind  and  ignorant, 
and  miserable  in  this  life  and  in  the  life  to  come. 

As  to  the  women,  however,  their  chief  duty  and 
the  summing-up  of  religion  for  them,  is  to  be 
obedient  and  faithful  to  their  husbands.  (It  should 
be  noted  that  just  before  the  address  began,  some 
fifty  or  more  women  and  children  had  come  in  at  a 
side  door  and  had  seated  themselves  upon  the  car- 
pet, in  front  and  at  the  side  of  the  women  and 
children  belonging  to  Mr.  Tribhowandas’  immediate 
family.) 

The  discourse  closed  with  a general  and  impas- 
sioned exhortation  to  abide  faithful  to  their  religion, 
to  have  confidence  in  its  vast  superiority  to  every 
other  religion,  and  to  show  respect  and  obedience 
to  the  Brahmans. 

After  the  Shankara-char}ra  had  finished  his  ser- 
mon, he  expressed  willingness  to  answer  any  ques- 
tions or  objections  which  might  be  proposed.  At 
this  an  old  man,  a Vaidya  or  doctor  of  divinity,  as 
though  by  arrangement  beforehand,  promptly  arose, 


62  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

and  repeated  in  Guzarati  a part  of  what  his  spiritual 
superior  had  said.  But  the  old  man,  as  though  he 
had  enjoyed  (?)  an  experience  which  had  been  spared 
the  younger  high-priest,  waxed  especially  earnest 
and  excited,  and  went  into  more  abundant  details, 
when  he  came  to  speak  of  the  place  and  duties  of  the 
women.  Not  to  disobey  or  cross  the  husband  in  any 
wajT  was  the  special  sacred  duty  of  the  woman.  As 
for  the  child-wife,  her  duty  was  to  be  obedient  to 
her  mother-in-law.  When  the  speaker  reached  the 
climax  of  his  eloquence  on  this  important  practical 
doctrine,  the  audience  of  the  faithful  broke  into  ap- 
plause by  clapping  their  hands. 

After  this  address  was  over,  a young  man,  a mem- 
ber of  the  family,  arose  and  thanked  all  present 
for  their  courtesy  in  attending  these  funeral  cere- 
monies. Then,  to  my  amazement,  he  branched  off 
into  a quite  ill-fitting  eulogy  of  me,  who  had  done 
the  family  so  much  honor  by  consenting  to  be  among 
those  present.  And  as  our  host  came  up  to  shake 
hands  and  bid  us  good-bye,  he  assured  us  that  we 
had  enjoyed,  in  consideration  of  his  dignity,  and  at 
his  urgent  request,  an  entirely  unique  privilege.  We 
will  let  it  stand  in  that  way, — the  debit  of  gratitude 
being  altogether  against  ourselves. 

Some  additional  light  may  be  thrown  on  this  re- 
markable ceremony  by  the  two  remarks  which  fol- 
low. The  Shankara.-cha.rya  is,  as  the  compound  word 
signifies,  a “spiritual  leader”  of  the  Shaiva  sect. 


Two  Notable  Ceremonials 


63 


There  are  four  such  guides  belonging  to  this  sect  in 
Western  India.  There  are  acharayas,  or  spiritual 
leaders,  belonging  to  every  Hindu  sect.  By  pre- 
eminence, one  great  organizer  of  the  Shaiva  sect  was 
formerly  called  the  “great,”  or  Shankara-charya. 
But  now  the  title  is  given  to  spiritual  leaders  of  the 
first  rank  in  the  sect.  The  appointment  is  partly 
hereditary  and  partly  by  adoption  or  selection. 

The  entire  performance  as  witnessed  at  the  house 
of  Mr.  Tribhowandas  seemed  totally  lacking  in  even 
the  formal  expression  of  the  feelings  which  in  West- 
ern minds  would  suggest  that  it  was  an  appropriate 
“Death  Ceremonial.”  And  indeed,  it  was  not  so 
regarded  by  those  who  took  the  principal  part  in  it. 
It  was,  the  rather,  the  formal  recognition  of  the 
Brahmanical  doctrine  “The  All-One  is  incarnate  in 
the  Brahman;  the  Brahman  is  therefore  a proper 
object  of  divine  worship.”  The  way  to  worship  is 
not  spiritual,  but  purely  ceremonial;  and  he  who 
performs  the  ceremonial,  according  to  Brahmanical 
regulations,  acquires  merit,  for  the  body  of  the 
Acharaya,  even  his  toe,  is  deity  incarnate. 

The  other  equally  interesting,  though  by  no 
means  equally  unique,  ceremony  at  which  we  were 
present  during  our  stay  in  Bombay,  was  a Parsee 
wedding  held  in  the  buildings  and  grounds  of  the 
community.  The  invitation  came  from  Sir  Jam- 
set  jee  Jejeebhoy,  who  sent  his  carriage  to  take  us 
to  the  place  appointed.  The  entire  “plant” — so  to 


64 


Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

say — was  the  gift  of  a wealthy  Parsee  to  the  Parsee 
community,  and  was  made  some  years  ago.  It  con- 
sists of  two  houses,  each  with  at  least  one  capacious 
room  on  the  ground  floor,  a hall  for  feasting,  and 
considerable  open  space  between  the  two  houses, — 
all  surrounded  by  a wall. 

On  entering  the  yard  we  found  a large  com- 
pany already  assembled  and  seated  in  chairs  in  the 
open  air ; indeed,  the  whole  yard  was  nearly  filled 
with  invited  guests  and  the  members  of  the  com- 
munity. Among  the  former  were  a few  Muham- 
madans and  Hindus  and  one  European  besides  our- 
selves. With  few  exceptions,  all  were  dressed  in 
white,  which  is  the  proper  ceremonial  dress  or  wed- 
ding-garment. A band  of  a dozen  or  fifteen  instru- 
ments— mostly  brass — stood  playing  in  the  space 
just  in  front  of  where  the  bride  and  her  family 
friends  were  waiting  for  the  groom.  On  inquiry, 
we  were  told  that  all  those  seated  without  were  the 
male  friends  and  acquaintances  of  the  groom, — an- 
other proof  that  the  business  interests  of  the  Parsees 
are  widely  extended  and  are  not  confined  wholly 
to  those  of  their  own  class.  The  ladies  of  his  family 
were  waiting  in  “the  house  of  the  bridegroom but 
right  across  the  avenue  between  the  rows  of  chairs 
which  had  been  left  open  for  the  procession  of  these 
female  friends,  sat  the  bridegroom  and  the  officiating 
high-priest.  The  groom  appeared  dressed  as  were 
the  other  Parsees  present,  except  that  over  his  arm 


Till-:  1IOUSK  Ol<'  Till';  IlKIDKCKODai 


Two  Notable  Ceremonials 


65 


hung  a creamy  white  Chudda  shawl  with  a Persian 
border;  while  a similar  garment  was  conspicuously 
thrown  over  the  shoulder  of  the  high-priest. 

Soon  after  our  arrival,  the  band  marched  from  its 
station  to  and  through  the  front  entrance  into  the 
street,  and  took  up  its  place  opposite  the  bride’s 
house.  The  company  of  the  assembled  guests  fol- 
lowed, leaving  the  groom  and  the  priest,  with  the 
more  immediate  attendants  still  standing  at  their 
post.  We  had  been,  with  the  greatest  politeness, 
conducted  into  the  house  where  the  ceremony  was  to 
be  performed  and  seated  in  the  most  favorable  place 
for  observing  and  hearing  all. 

On  entering  the  house  we  found  it  already  well 
filled  with  girls  and  women,  who  were  said  to  be  the 
most  immediate  friends  of  the  bride.  In  two  cor- 
ners of  the  room  was  a group  of  five  or  six  hired 
singers,  who  chanted  in  rather  melancholy  fashion 
good  wishes  for  the  couple  and  laudations  of  the 
virtues  of  the  bride.  But  we  were  scarcely  seated, 
when  we  were  invited  to  go  to  the  door  and  see  a 
most  interesting  bit  of  the  ceremonial.  This  con- 
sisted of  the  reception  and  consecration  of  the  bride’s 
presents.  For  to  inspect  and  comment  upon  these 
tokens  (?)  of  the  family’s  prosperity  and  the  popu- 
larity of  the  bridal  couple  is  not  made  the  con- 
spicuous thing  in  this  country  alone.  At  a Chinese 
wedding  much  of  the  bridal  procession  consists  of 
hired  attendants  bearing  aloft  the  presents,  cakes 


66  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

and  roast  pig  and  all.  The  display  was  more  modest 
in  this  case.  For  behind  a bevy  of  a dozen  pretty 
Parsee  maidens  came  two  serving  women  carrying 
the  precious  store.  While  these  stood  waiting  on  the 
upper  step  just  outside  the  door,  the  bride’s  sister 
came  forward  with  a small  silver  platter,  on  which 
an  egg  was  broken  and  a handful  of  rice  strewn. 
This  mixture  was  sprinkled  (but  only  symbolically) 
over  the  presents,  which  were  then  handed  over  to 
the  bride. 

Water  was  also  sprinkled  on  the  floor,  and  white 
chalk  was  scattered  through  a sort  of  stencilled  plate 
over  a space  of  the  floor  some  two  and  a half  feet 
by  one  foot  in  size.  A low  wooden  platform — ap- 
parently to  prevent  the  bride  from  wetting  or  soiling 
her  white  satin  slippers — was  then  placed  over  this 
decorated  space,  upon  which  the  bride  took  her 
stand.  The  formal  presentation  of  the  presents 
was  conducted  in  this  way.  In  her  extended  palms 
were  laid  the  choice  silks,  and  over  her  neck  was 
thrown  the  string  of  precious  pearls.  The  cones 
of  sugar  covered  with  paper  of  gold  and  garlanded 
with  flowers  were  left  standing  on  the  salver. 

Scarcely  was  this  performance  finished  when  we 
were  again  summoned  to  the  door  to  witness  the  ar- 
rival of  the  bridegroom,  who  already  stood  waiting 
on  the  step  outside.  Over  him  a cocoanut  was 
broken  for  good  luck;  and  to  signify  plenty,  water 
and  rice  were  sprinkled  over  him, — this  time  actually, 
though  in  small  quantities.  He  then,  attended  by 


Two  Notable  Ceremonials 


67 


the  priest  and  followed  by  the  assistants,  entered 
the  room  and  seated  himself  right  in  front  of  and 
facing  the  bride,  the  back  of  whose  chair  was  turned 
toward  us.  Two  priests  held  in  front  of  him  a wide 
piece  of  white  silk,  which  acted  as  a screen  between 
him  and  the  bride,  who  was  now  formally  again  con- 
ducted to  her  seat.  This  well  signified  that  the 
groom  “took  her  without  seeing  her,”  or  as  we 
should  say:  “For  better  or  for  worse.”  And  now, 
under  the  silken  screen  the  hands  of  the  pair  were 
joined  by  the  high- priest,  and  around  the  bodies  of 
the  two  was  wound  a long  scarf  of  white  silk.  The 
“tying  of  the  knot”  was  further  completed  by  wind- 
ing cotton  cord  from  a new  ball  of  yarn,  seven  times 
around  the  bodies  of  both.  This  “pairing,”  al- 
though the  occasion  of  it  was  so  antipodal,  reminded 
us  of  that  to  which  we  had  been  witnesses  in  the  pro- 
cession that  was  ascending  the  steps  of  the  Towers 
of  Silence  at  the  time  of  our  visit  to  the  place  where 
the  Parsees  dispose  of  the  bodies  of  their  departed 
friends.  “Till  death  us  do  part yes,  and  even 
after,  if  the  seven-fold  cord  is  not  too  easily  broken. 

Before  the  screen  was  removed,  the  priests 
chanted  in  both  Sanskrit  and  Zend  prayers  for 
the  welfare  and  unity  of  the  two.  Then  incense  was 
fired  in  a large  brazen  vessel,  held  just  behind  and  to 
the  left  of  the  groom ; and  the  hired  singers  broke 
out  into  a loud  song  of  well-wishing  for  the  newly 
married  pair. 

But  the  ceremony  was  by  no  means  over  yet.  The 


68 


Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

occasion  must  be  improved  by  a sermon  of  quite  half 
an  hour  in  length.  The  silken  screen  was  now  re- 
moved ; the  bride  was  seated  in  the  same  chair  beside 
the  g room  and  on  his  left;  and  the  white  scarf  was 
moved  up  on  to  his  right  shoulder  and  allowed  to  slip 
down  over  her  right  thigh, — as  one  person  would 
wear  a scarf  of  the  same  kind.  Then  the  priest 
stationed  himself  in  the  full  front  of  the  couple  and, 
momently  throwing  at  them  a grain  or  two  of  rice, 
chanted  first  in  Zend  and  then  in  Sanskrit  the 
moral  maxims  and  exhortations  fitted  to  a newly 
married  pair. 

At  the  end  of  the  sermon,  the  entire  ceremonial 
was  quickly  finished  with  the  fatherly  blessing  of  the 
high-priest.  We  were  then  allowed  to  congratulate 
the  newly  married  couple,  in  the  Western  fashion  by 
shaking  hands ; after  which,  to  our  great  surprise, 
we  were  conducted  to  the  Hall  where  the  wedding 
feast  was  spread,  and  were  seated  at  the  bride’s 
table  on  her  right.  It  would  doubtless  have  been 
most  pleasant  and  instructive  could  we  have  re- 
mained to  the  end  of  the  feast ; but  another  engage- 
ment called  us  away  when  we  had  just  had  time  to 
touch  our  lips  to  a glass  in  honor  of  the  bride’s 
health. 

On  asking  why  the  entire  spoken  part  of  the  wed- 
ding ceremony  was  given  first  in  the  Zend  language 
— popularly  though  erroneously  supposed  to  be  that 
of  the  Avesta,  or  ancient  Parsee  scriptures, — and 


Two  Notable  Ceremonials 


69 


then  repeated  in  Sanskrit,  the  ancient  and  sacred 
language  of  the  Vedas,  the  Hindu  scriptures,  I was 
given  this  explanation:  When  the  Parsees  first  came 
to  India,  they  were  allowed  to  remain  only  on  these 
conditions:  that  they  should  refrain  from  beef,  in 
deference  to  the  Hindus,  from  pork,  in  deference 
to  the  Muhammadans ; and  that  they  should  use 
both  languages,  in  order  to  prevent  the  possibility 
of  intrigue  and  conspiracy. 

The  Parsees  do  not  approve  of  early  marriages, 
as  do  the  Hindus.  Unless  the  male  is  eighteen  and 
the  female  sixteen,  the  marriage  is  not  legal  accord- 
ing to  their  law.  But  at  this  very  ceremony  there 
was  present  a little,  slender  Hindu  girl,  who  could 
not  have  been  over  twelve  years  of  age,  but  who 
was  obviously  within  a short  time  to  become  a 
mother.  We  recalled  the  statement  of  Mr.  Malabari 
that,  in  general,  the  Hindu  women  are  neither  physi- 
cally nor  mentally  fit  to  become  wives  and  mothers. 

To  the  watchful  eye  there  were  evidences  on  this 
occasion,  as  on  every  other  where  one  comes  into 
closer  social  contact  with  the  one  hundred  thousand 
Parsees  of  India,  that  they  are  rapidly  becoming 
Europeanized.  Although  the  grounds  and  build- 
ings where  this  marriage  was  celebrated  belong  to 
the  community,  and  can  be  rented  for  an  entire  day 
for  a single  rupee  and  the  bare  expense  of  the 
lighting,  the  wealthier  Parsees  prefer  being  “mar- 
ried at  home”  to  being  “married  in  church.”  Even 


70 


Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

in  this  church  ceremony,  the  use  of  the  ring,  the 
wearing  of  orange  flowers,  and  other  particulars, 
were  European  modifications.  And  that  has  hap- 
pened with  the  Parsees,  which  always  happens  under 
similar  conditions ; there  has  arisen  a division  into 
a more  strictly  orthodox  and  a more  liberal  and  pro- 
gressive sect.  One  aged  Parsee  came  up  to  us  after 
the  ceremony  was  finished  and  assured  us  in  a grieved 
voice:  “This  was  not  at  all  the  true  and  ancient 
Zend  ceremony.” 

Two  impressions  stamped  upop  our  minds  by 
these  notable  ceremonials  in  a somewhat  violent  way 
were  confirmed  and  deepened  by  numerous  experi- 
ences during  that  winter  in  India.  Most  of  the 
ceremonials,  of  whatever  sort,  and  whether  as  prac- 
ticed by  the  priests  or  by  the  people,  are  practiced 
and  prized  as  matters  prescribed  by  custom  which 
it  is  inconvenient  or  dangerous  to  avoid,  or  through 
which  “merit”  may  be  won  and  stored,  rather  than 
as  the  sincere  and  intelligent  use  of  rites  and  sym- 
bolism to  express  and  cultivate  genuine  religious 
thought  and  feeling.  In  the  death  ceremonial  not  a 
trace  of  genuine  affection  for  the  dead,  or  of  hope 
of  future  meeting,  or  of  need  for  every  individual  to 
expect  and  prepare  for  the  same  event,  or  of  faith 
in  the  eternal  validity  of  right  relations  between 
God  and  the  human  soul,  was  anywhere  to  be  dis- 
cerned. In  the  wedding  ceremony,  although  it  was 
celebrated  as  a sacrament  needing  priestly  assistance 


Two  Notable  Ceremonials 


71 


and  consecration  that  it  might  obtain  the  favor  of 
heaven,  and  meant  to  be  a true  and  lasting  union  of 
souls,  the  underlying  attitudes,  appi*opriate  of  mind 
and  heart  and  will,  were  not  more  manifest  than  they 
are  at  many  a church-wedding  in  our  own  land. 

But  there  is  another  side  to  all  this,  full  of  sig- 
nificance as  to  the  past,  and  full  of  hope  as  to  the 
future.  The  common  people  of  India  are  today 
more  essentially  religious  than  are  the  people  of 
the  United  States.  These  rites  and  symbols  mean 
essentially  this : All  human  life  and  all  its  events — 
birth,  marriage,  the  begetting  and  bearing  of  chil- 
dren, the  daily  life  in  the  family  or  before  the  public, 
and  death  and  what  comes  after  have  religious  mean- 
ing and  religious  value.  The  divine  is  never  and 
nowhere,  and  on  no  occasion,  to  be  considered  as 
separate  from,  or  a matter  of  no  concern  to,  the  life 
of  man.  When  the  beliefs  throw  off  their  supersti- 
tions, and  the  imperious  dominance  of  the  priest- 
hood is  changed  to  the  helpful  spirit  of  brotherly 
kindness,  and  the  power  of  caste  is  broken,  then  we 
believe  that  the  Orient  will,  mayhap,  become  again 
the  leader  of  the  world,  in  the  purity  and  force  of 
its  religious  fervor. 


CHAPTER  IV 


A MODEL  NATIVE  CITY 

WHEN  we  awoke  the  morning  after  leaving 
Bombay,  we  were  passing  through  a region 
sorely  afflicted  with  famine.  The  Province  of 
Guzerat  is  ordinarily  “The  Garden  of  India”  and  its 
Capital,  Ahmedabad,  is  one  of  the  most  flourishing 
of  the  ancient  native  cities.  But  now,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  inconsiderable  sections  around  the  few 
wells  that  still  yield  a scanty  supply  of  water,  the 
land  is  inconceivably  desolate.  White  dust,  a small 
number  of  fruitless  bushes  of  cotton,  withered  cac- 
tus hedges,  and  occasional  groups  of  trees  which 
look  as  though  they  were  themselves  “panting  for 
the  water  brooks,”  comprise  the  landscape  that  from 
the  car  windows  meets  the  eye.  Of  animal  life  there 
are  only  some  lean  buffalos,  which  are  being  kept 
alive  on  what  remains  of  dry  stubble  and  the  smaller 
twigs  and  leaves  of  the  trees.  All  the  other  cattle 
are  dying  or  already  dead.  In  the  fields  are  famine 
camps,  around  which  skeletons  of  men  and  women 
are  languidly  doing  a bit  of  work,  or  are  wandering 
about  in  the  fields,  digging  roots  for  their  own  food. 

72 


A Model  Native  City 


73 


or  gathering  stubble  for  fuel  or  for  feeding  the  buf- 
falos. The  only  suggestions  of  real  and  vigorous 
life  are  the  monkeys,  which  are  perched  in  the  bar- 
ren trees,  or  sitting  stolidly  by  the  track,  or  gam- 
boling across  the  fields.  Yet  the  mother  monkeys 
are  illustrating  one  of  the  two  kinds  of  faith  into 
which  Hindu  humor  of  the  religious  type  divides  this 
attitude  of  mind.  For  there  is  “cat-faith”  and  there 
is  “monkey-faith.”  In  the  former,  the  parent  seizes 
the  offspring  by  the  nape  of  the  neck  and  carries  it 
— volens  ant  nolens — to  a place  of  safety:  in  the 
latter  kind  of  faith,  the  offspring  clings  around  the 
parent’s  neck  and  so  escapes  the  threatened  danger. 
Surely,  not  only  the  pious  but  all  the  people  of 
Guzerat,  need  both  kinds  of  faith  in  the  present 
hour. 

We  broke  our  journey  for  an  over  Sunday  at 
Ahmedabad,  “once  the  greatest  city  in  India,”  and 
said  to  have  been  from  1573  to  1600  “the  handsomest 
town  in  Hindustan,  perhaps  in  the  world.”  In  Sir 
Thomas  Hoe’s  time,  1615,  we  are  told:  “It  is  a 
goodly  city,  as  large  as  London.”  We  were  for 
our  stay,  the  guests  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Taylor.  Since 
the  magnificence  of  Ahmedabad  consists  chiefly  in 
the  character  of  its  mosques  and  tombs,  built  and 
embellished  by  its  Mogul  emperors,  and  since  all  this 
is  to  be  seen  in  yet  more  magnificent  and  well-pre- 
served form,  in  Agra  and  Delhi,  we  shall  not  dwell 
upon  the  wonderful  stone  carving  of  Rani  Sipris’ 


74  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India, 

tomb  and  mosque,  “the  gem  of  Ahmedabad;”  or 
upon  the  delicate  beauty  of  the  elaborate  structures 
in  memory  of  Shah  Alam, — who  was  not,  indeed,  a 
political  ruler  but  a religious  teacher.  [The  dome 
of  the  tomb  had  been  whitewashed  (?)  by  the  enter- 
prising government  officer,  who  appears  to  go  in 
for  “revenue  only”;  but  the  Viceroy,  on  a recent 
visit,  had  strongly  protested  at  this  sesthetical  out- 
rage and  had  ordered  the  whitewash  removed.] 

The  chief  conquest  of  our  stay  in  Ahmedabad  was 
some  slight  insight  into  the  Jain  religion,  and  a 
particularly  intimate  view  of  Hati  Singh,  which  is 
perhaps  the  most  splendid  of  the  Jain  temples  in  all 
India.  These  special  favors  were  procured  for  us 
by  Mr.  Manibai,  whose  grandfather  had  founded  the 
temple  some  fifty  years  before  at  a cost  of  a million 
and  a half  rupees,  and  who  seemed  to  have  received 
instructions  from  his  brother  in  Bombay  to  show 
us  every  possible  attention. 

On  Sunday  morning  two  brothers  who  were  sup- 
posed to  be  scholars  in  the  tenets  of  the  Jain  re- 
ligion, and  in  its  history,  called  for  the  express  pur- 
pose of  answering  all  the  questions  which  I might 
wish  to  ask  of  them.  I cannot  vouch  for  the  ac- 
curacy of  the  Sunday-school  lesson  given  to  me  that 
morning;  since  Dr.  Taylor,  who  acted  as  interpreter 
had  great  difficulty  in  getting  from  my  teachers  any 
clear  definition  of  the  terms  they  were  employing; 
and  since  almost  everything  they  said  has  been  a 


A Model  Native  City 


75 


matter  of  endless  disputation  among  the  doctors  of 
the  various  sects  into  which  its  creed  has  broken  up. 
But  according  to  the  claim  of  these  student-teachers, 
Jainism  originated  before  Buddhism;  and,  indeed, 
Shakya-Muni  was  himself  at  the  third  remove  from 
the  twenty-third  Tirthankar,  or  Saintly  founder  of 
Jainism.  The  Jains,  therefore,  are  true  transmitters 
of  the  pure  Aryan  religion.  But  the  Brahmans  have 
corrupted  this  religion. 

The  reform  which  Jainism  inaugurated  empha- 
sized these  three  things : ( 1 ) Revolt  from  the  rule  of 
the  Brahman;  for  salvation  is  not  necessarily 
through  him ; but  “as  a man  soweth,  so  shall  he 
reap.”  (2)  To  abstain  from  all  killing,  which — 
even  that  of  the  animals — is  forbidden  as  being  mur- 
der. But  (3)  in  secular  matters,  such  as  mar- 
riage, the  Jain  may  resort  to  the  aid  of  a Brahman. 

Positively,  the  religion  of  the  Jains  emphasizes 
both  good  understanding  and  good  faith  and  good 
works.  The  word  which  my  teachers  used  for  faith 
really  meant  “insight”  or  “vision,”  and  so  seemed 
not  to  differ  materially  from  good  understanding. 
But  they  explained  it  rather  as  confidence  in,  and 
obedience  to,  the  six  Tirthankars,  or  spiritual  guides 
of  the  community.  Besides  these,  the  community  has 
a store  of  Sarus,  or  holy  men  and  women,  who  serve 
as  examples  and  teachers.  The  end  of  it  all — as  in 
Brahmanism  and  Buddhism — is  to  attain  Nirvana 
(salvation)  ; but  the  Way  of  Salvation  is,  more 


76  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

especially,  to  keep  the  twelve  vows,  of  which  the  first 
five  are  fundamental  and  constitute  the  minimum  re- 
quired of  every  true  Jain.  They  are  the  Mahar- 
ratas,  or  great  vows ; and  to  these  there  is  universal 
agreement.  But  as  to  the  remaining  seven,  there 
is  variety  of  opinion ; even  my  informants  differed 
from  some  of  the  books,  including  one  written  by  a 
Jain  of  Guzerat. 

During  our  stay  in  Ahmedabad  this  theoretical 
exposition  of  the  doctrines  of  Jainism  was  sup- 
plemented by  a spectacular  exhibition  of  its  cere- 
monial. Mr.  Manibai  himself  conducted  us  to  the 
temple  of  Hati  Singh  and  had  the  Asti  or  evening 
wave-offering  from  the  five-flamed  lamp  performed 
for  our  special  benefit.  Of  the  temple’s  architecture 
two  features  seemed  to  me  especially  beautiful. 
These  were  the  colonade  which  surrounds  the  entire 
temple-enclosure,  and  on  the  exterior  walls  of  which, 
but  opening  inwards,  are  the  shrines  of  the  twenty- 
four  Tirthankars;  and  the  several  arches  over  the 
porches,  which  seemed  veritably  to  be  poured  forth 
upward  from  the  mouths  of  the  elephant-heads  that 
rested  on  the  posts  of  the  porch.  Peering  through 
the  carved  doors  in  front  of  the  shrines  we  could 
see  the  images  of  the  saints ; they  were  made  of  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  stone — mostly  marble — and  their 
eyes  looked  as  though  they  were  crystals  with  spec- 
tacles over  them ! Much  of  the  carving  of  the  tem- 
ple was  beautiful  and  appropriate  to  a building  for 


77 


A Model  Native  City 

religious  service ; but  some  of  it  was  as  grotesque  and 
inappropriate — for  example  the  Nautch  girls  danc- 
ing— as  is  much  of  the  carving  on  the  stalls  of  some 
of  the  cathedrals  of  England. 

Just  inside  the  temple  door  was  the  shrine  of  the 
founder,  whose  image,  resembling  that  of  the 
Tirthankars  and  of  the  god  of  the  temple,  and  the 
images  of  his  two  wives,  appeared  behind  a screen 
in  the  form  of  a two-leaved  door.  This  particular 
deity,  to  which  the  temple  is  dedicated,  is  Dhar- 
manath,  the  “lord  of  religion.”  Before  the  begin- 
ning of  the  service  Dr.  Taylor  warned  us  not  to  be 
frightened  at  the  noise.  The  priest  then  advanced 
and  took  up  a lamp  of  peculiar  shape  with  five  wicks 
burning ; and  at  once  there  began  the  mingled  clang- 
ing of  a large  and  rather  harsh  bell  and  the  rub-a- 
dub  of  an  enormous  drum.  The  ceremony  consisted 
in  waving  the  lamp  in  a sort  of  circular  motion,  just 
outside  the  shrine  but  in  front  of  the  enshrined  idol; 
while  the  bell  and  the  drum  seemed  to  be  engaged 
in  a frenzied  effort  to  drown  the  low  mutterings  of 
the  priest  and  the  other  four  or  five  worshippers. 
Part  of  this  ceremony  reminded  one  of  the  “wave- 
offering”  in  the  Temple  of  the  Hebrews  at  Jerusa- 
lem. 

The  Jains — their  number  reaching  nearly  a mil- 
lion and  a half — are  one  of  the  most  numerous  of 
the  heretical  sects  in  all  India.  They  are  largely 
traders  and  many  of  them  have  acquired  consider- 


78  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

able  wealth.  This  fact,  of  course,  secures  for  them 
influence  of  a certain  kind,  but  they  are,  not  un- 
naturally, despised  and  hated  by  the  leaders  of 
orthodoxy  in  the  different  Hindu  castes.  Their 
claim  to  antedate  Buddhism  is  probably  false ; but 
when  Buddhism  had  become  corrupted  and  had  been 
largely  banished  from  India  by  persecution,  the 
simpler  and  less  pronounced  revolt  against  priestly 
tyranny  and  the  doctrine  of  salvation  by  ceremonial 
came  more  to  the  front  and  appealed  to  the  common 
people.  Their  particular  boast  in  the  way  of  practi- 
cal piety  is  the  strictness  with  which  they  regard 
and  practice  the  commandment : “Thou  shalt  do  no 
murder.”  For,  in  the  case  of  the  strictly  orthodox 
Jain,  the  command  protects  the  insects  which  get 
into  the  food,  the  musquitos  which  buzz  about  the 
ears,  and  the  moths  that  flit  about  the  lamp  or 
candle.  Thus  Mr.  Manibai,  being  orthodox  as  be- 
came the  chief  patron  of  the  temple,  excused  himself 
from  acting  as  our  escort,  in  order  that  he  might 
get  to  his  home  and  take  his  evening  meal  before 
twilight.  But  how  do  such  scruples  “jibe  with” 
the  duties  of  religion,  now  that  modern  science  has 
evolved  its  theories  of  bacteria,  micro-organism, 
etc.?  As  nearly  as  possible  after  the  fashion  of  the 
Hindus  who,  not  desiring  to  incur  the  enmity  of 
the  spirits  of  deceased  cobras  and  their  enraged  an- 
cestors, have  their  servants  carefully  gather  up  the 
young  snakes  in  some  covered  receptable  and  place 
them  in  the  compound  of  the  nearest  foreigner. 


A Model  Native  City 


79 


But  the  observations  of  this  part  of  our  journey- 
ing through  India  were  not  so  much  directed  to  mat- 
ters of  religion  as  to  matters  of  politics.  The  next 
stop  was  to  be  at  Jaipur  (or  Jeypore),  one  of  the 
most  interesting  and  prosperous  of  all  the  native 
cities.  The  government  was  chiefly  “paternal,”  in 
the  stricter  meaning  of  the  word.  And  a decidedly 
paternal  government  under  a native  ruler  is  un- 
doubtedly still  most  suited  to  the  natives  of  India ; 
— only,  however,  if  the  ruler  is  an  unselfish,  wise 
and  good  man,  and  if  he  and  his  people  can  be  kept 
from  corrupting  foreign  influences.  But  in  these 
days,  in  India,  in  the  Philippines,  or  anywhere  else 
where  conditions  are  at  all  similar,  to  secure  such  a 
ruler  and  such  exemption — ah ! that  is  indeed  “the 
rub.” 

As  we  went  northward  the  signs  of  most  extreme 
famine,  and  of  the  barrenness  it  brings,  somewhat 
diminished.  More  cattle  and  goats  seemed  to  be 
still  alive;  more  green  spots  were  around  the  wells; 
fewer  skeletons  were  wandering  through  the  parched 
fields ; and  in  some  fractions  of  acres  a veritable 
handful  of  grain  was  growing. 

We  tumbled  out  of  our  berths  to  dress  and  pack 
up  in  the  dark  the  next  morning.  On  getting  from 
the  train  we  were  handed  two  letters,  one  from  Col. 
Jacobs,  the  “Resident”  who  represented  the  over- 
sight of  the  British  Government  in  that  region,  and 
one  from  our  missionary  host.  The  former  invited 
us  to  dinner,  but  gave  the  disappointing  informa- 


80  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  m India 

tion  that  a disease  which  had  broken  out  among  the 
elephants  would  prevent  the  coveted  trip  to  Mount 
Amber;  the  other  note  apologized  for  not  being 
able  to  meet  us  in  person,  but  put  us  into  excellent 
hands.  We  were  at  once  given  a breakfast  of  toast 
and  tea  (what  in  India  is  called  chota  hazri  or 
“little  breakfast”)  and  then  taken  to  the  three- 
roomed  tent  which  had  been  set  up  on  the  com- 
pound for  our  accommodation.  This  accommoda- 
tion was  highly  fortunate,  if  there  is  any  truth  in 
what  the  two  principal  hotels  were  saying  about 
each  other  on  the  printed  cards  handed  to  us  upon 
alighting.  The  experience  of  most  tourists  of  India 
will  confirm  my  suspicion  that  each  hotel  was  telling 
the  truth  about  the  other,  but  not  about  itself.  I 
quote  a sentence  from  each,  to  show  that  such  enter- 
prise is  not  confined  to  the  United  States,  but  has 
even  reached  the  northern  part  of  a distant  and  very 
differently  peopled  continent.  One  testimonial  of 
the  KAISER-I-HIND  HOTEL  read  as  follows : “On 
arriving  at  Jaipur  I was  driven  to  Rustom’s  Family 
Hotel,  but  had  to  leave  it  owing  to  its  inconvenient 
surrounding  and  indifferent  cuisine.  The  Kaiser-i- 
Hind  is  a vast  improvement  on  it.  The  rooms  are 
far  cleaner,  the  feed  better  and  the  manager  more 
civil.”  But  the  other  signed  testimonial  affirms: 
“Removed  from  the  Kaiser-i-Hind  and  stayed  at 
RUSTOM’S  with  my  wife  and  family  for  a few 
days,  and  have  nothing  but  praise  to  say  of  the 


A Model  Native  City 


81 


place — extremely  comfortable  and  clean,  and  food 
all  that  could  be  desired,  a great  change  to  the 
Kaiser-i-Hind  Hotel,  the  Manager  of  which  was 
rude  and  impertinent  to  me.”  Between  these  two 
complaints  we  could  not  choose, — having  neither  de- 
sire nor  opportunity  to  sample  either  hotel. 

The  physical  lay  and  surroundings  of  the  native 
city  of  Jaipur  are  so  remarkable  and  so  necessary 
to  an  understanding  of  its  present  political  condi- 
tion and  its  political  history,  that  some  more  de- 
tailed account  of  them  should  be  given.  The  ancient 
capital  Amber,  five  miles  from  the  more  modern 
capital,  the  city  of  Jaipur,  gives  us  the  key  to  an 
understanding  of  all  this.  Amber  is  situated  at  the 
mouth  of  a rocky  mountain  gorge,  and  at  the  foot 
of  a lovely  mountain  lake.  On  all  sides  except  the 
South,  where  the  modern  capital  lies  in  a richly 
cultivated  and  extensive  plain,  Amber  is  surrounded 
by  rugged  hills  crowned  with  forts.  At  the  end  of 
the  ridge  of  hills  is  the  so-called  “Tiger  Fort,”  and 
the  side  of  the  ridge  turned  toward  the  plain  on 
the  South  is  scarped  and  made  inaccessible  from  that 
direction ; but  behind  it,  in  its  nest  surrounded  by 
natural  and  artificial  fortifications,  with  a plenti- 
ful supply  of  living  water  easy  to  defend,  nestles  the 
ancient  capital  of  this  Province.  The  “old  place,” 
begun  in  1600  (nothing  is  really  very  old  in  India, 
compared  with  the  antiquity  of  Egypt  and  Baby- 
lon or  even  of  Greece  and  Rome),  lies  low  on  the 


82 


Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

slope  of  the  hill,  and  is  a grand  and  impressive  pile. 
Its  suites  of  rooms  rise  one  above  another,  and  form 
vistas  opening  on  striking  views.  On  the  higher  ter- 
race are  the  apartments  of  the  Maharaja,  which  are 
entered  by  a gateway  covered  with  mosaics  and 
sculptures,  over  which  is  a small  pavilion  with  rarely 
beautiful  latticed  windows.  In  the  Treasury,  there 
are  fabulous  but  perhaps  not  altogether  incredible 
stories  of  the  immense  amounts  of  gold  and  jewels 
hoarded  up.  The  beginnings  of  the  native  strong- 
hold reach  far  back  in  history.  Amber  is  said  to 
be  mentioned  by  Ptolemy. 

While  the  ancient  city  is  largely  in  ruins,  the 
modern  city  of  Jaipur  is  flourishing,  well-preserved 
and  well-governed,  and  by  no  means  lacking  in 
features  of  magnificence  quite  its  own.  For  the 
Royal  House  of  Jaipur  has  been,  on  the  whole,  pe- 
culiarly favored  as  respects  its  native  princes,  ever 
since  Jai  Singh  II  founded  Jaipur  in  1728.  The 
Raja  of  the  time  when  we  were  there,  so  far  as 
signs  appeared  obvious  to  foreign  eyes,  seemed  a 
ruler  not  unworthy  to  be  the  descendant  of  the  best 
of  his  ancestors.  At  any  rate,  not  being  acquainted 
with,  or  empowered  to  go  behind  the  curtain  and  see, 
the  real  actors,  whether  in  the  comedy  or  the  tragedy 
of  government,  and  so  decide  how  much  credit  was 
due  to  native  Rajas  and  how  much  to  British  Resi- 
dents, we  will  be  content  to  tell  what  we  saw.  And 
what  we  say  seemed  to  us  important  testimony  to 


A WISE  PATERNAL  GOVERNMENT 


83 


A Model  Native  City 

the  excellences  of  a good  and  wise  paternal  governs 
ment,  administered  by  the  native  princes  under  the 
friendly  and  kindly  advisement  and  assistance  of  the 
prevalent  foreign  control. 

Our  first  visit  was  to  the  Museum  where  we  re- 
ceived a most  cordial  welcome  from  the  native  chief- 
attendant  in  charge.  He  had  read  of  the  lectures 
in  Bombay  and  was  most  effusive — native  like — in 
his  compliments.  On  the  ground-floor  of  this  build- 
ing is  an  interesting  and  large  collection  of  art- 
work,— especially  of  the  metal  and  textile  work  of 
India,  but  almost  exclusively  modern.  In  the  lec- 
ture-room of  the  Museum,  examinations  for  the  Gov- 
ernment College  were  at  the  time  being  held.  For 
public  instruction  has  made  greater  progress  in 
Jaipur  than  in  any  other  states  of  Rajputana.  The 
College  is  affiliated  with  the  University  of  Calcutta. 
It  was  opened  in  1844  with  only  about  forty  pupils; 
but  at  the  time  of  our  visit  the  number  had  already 
risen  to  more  than  a thousand  in  daily  attendance; 
and  in  the  quality  of  its  work  and  its  success  in 
preparing  its  students  for  the  University  examina- 
tions, it  did  not  need  to  fear  comparison  with  other 
institutions  of  its  kind  throughout  the  Empire. 
From  the  roof  of  the  building  the  whole  situation 
of  the  Maharaja’s  dominions  and  the  wisdom  of  his 
ancestor,  Jai  Singh  II,  became  plainly  visible.  For 
there  was  the  semi-circle  of  fortified  hills  which  sur- 
round the  ancient  citadel  of  Amber,  with  its  palaces 


84  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

and  treasury,  and  through  the  only  gap  in  which  an 
ample  supply  of  excellent  water  flows  from  the  moun- 
tain lake.  And  there  was  the  fertile  plain  stretching 
far  away  outside  the  walls  of  the  more  modern 
city  of  Jaipur,  within  which  the  cultivators  of  those 
plains  could  drive  their  cattle,  carry  their  valu- 
ables, and  betake  themselves  for  defence  in  case  of 
attack  from  their  ruler’s  enemies. 

From  the  Museum  we  were  driven  to  one  of  the 
workshops  where  such  things  as  the  Museum  dis- 
played were  manufactured  and  could  be  purchased 
to  the  best  advantage.  A narrow  street  under  an 
archway  led  into  an  exceedingly  dirty  court  strewn 
with  bricks  and  piles  of  stone  and  other  debris. 
From  one  corner  of  the  court  rose  a stone  stair- 
case which  led  to  balconies  running  around  the 
courtyard ; and  here  were  tables  on  which  the  owner 
who  rejoiced  in  the  name  of  Zoroaster,  and  was 
doubtless  a Parsee,  displayed  his  repousse  silver 
and  inlaid  metal  work,  his  silk  cloths  and  embroid- 
eries. In  rooms  opening  off  the  court  below,  boys 
were  at  work  in  the  various  kinds  of  industry, — 
among  others,  in  weaving  the  woolen  carpets  (India 
rugs)  the  owner  was  sending  to  the  United  States. 

But  the  title  to  fame  as  a wise  and  able  ruler 
which  may  be  claimed  by  Jai  Singh  II  was  not  left 
dependent  on  his  political  doings  alone;  for  he  was 
a patron  of  science  and  “a  royal  astronomer”  as 
well.  A visit  to  the  palace  and  palace  grounds  of 


A Model  Native  City 


85 


the  present  Raja  would  not  have  been  half  complete, 
if  we  had  not  left  the  carriage  for  a nearer  and 
closer  inspection  of  the  famous  Jantra  or  Observa- 
tory, which  is  the  largest  of  the  five  built  by  the 
aforesaid  Jai  Singh.  This  Jantra  is  not  under  cov- 
er, but  is  an  open  courtyard  in  which  are  the  remains 
of  the  most  curious  and  fantastic  collection  of 
mathematical  and  astronomical  instruments  which 
the  world  contains.  Here  are  dials,  gnomons, 
quadrants,  and  other  immense  structures  the  in- 
tended use  of  which  it  is  difficult  to  conjecture — for 
very  likely,  the  science  of  this  astronomer  had  a 
mixture  of  astrology  in  it,  as  was  not  uncommon 
everywhere  at  that  time.  These  instruments  include 
huge  structures  of  stone  masonry.  But  that  the 
collection  served,  in  general,  good  purposes  of  a 
scientific  character  in  the  hands  of  this  royal  as- 
tronomer, is  established  beyond  all  dispute  by  the 
many  wonderfully  accurate  measurements  and  cal- 
culations which  they  enabled  him  to  make.  The 
largest  of  the  sun-dials  records  with  accuracy  a 
change  of  two  and  a half  inches  in  the  movement  of 
the  shadow  for  every  minute  of  the  sun’s  time.  And 
there  is  little  difficulty  in  dividing  that  space  into 
sixty  parts  to  mark  the  single  seconds.  Indeed,  it  is 
of  record  that  by  the  use  of  this  dial  an  eclipse  of 
the  sun  was  in  the  maker’s  time  predicted  as  ac- 
curately as  could  then  be  done  by  the  astronomers 
of  Europe. 


86  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

At  Jaipur  the  provisions  for  alleviating  and  pre- 
venting the  sufferings  of  the  people  from  both 
famine  and  plague  were  far  and  away  the  best 
which  we  saw  in  all  India.  But  some  of  them  were 
such  as  only  a wise  and  benevolent  paternal  govern- 
ment, having  the  confidence  and  quasi-filial  affec- 
tion of  its  subjects,  could  undertake  or  achieve. 
Like  the  king  of  Egypt  in  Joseph’s  time,  the  Raja 
had  made  a huge  collection  of  grain  to  meet  the 
future  wants  of  the  people.  But  he  did  not  need 
to  store  it  in  granaries,  for  no  rain  was  to  be  ex- 
pected in  Northern  India  in  the  winter  season;  and 
as  to  thieves,  a slight  patrol  of  gendarmes  provided 
against  them,  if  any  of  the  people  were  so  dis- 
posed. Long,  high  piles  of  bags  of  grain  were 
stretched  through  the  middle  of  streets.  In  this 
way  the  people  were  assured  that  they  need  not 
fear  being  deceived  by  the  Government,  when  they 
were  told  there  should  be  enough  for  them  to  eat 
and,  at  least,  they  need  not  fear  to  die  of  starvation. 
The  same  paternal  authority  fixed  the  price  of  this 
grain,  so  that  the  “rice  merchants”  (a  term  of  bit- 
terness and  opprobrium  in  India  and  indeed  some- 
what widely  through  the  entire  Orient)  should  not 
oppress  the  poor  by  putting  up  the  price  of  food. 
The  Government  had  also  gone  through  the  kindly 
fiction  of  saving  the  cattle  from  slaughter  or  death 
by  starvation,  by  buying  them  at  a fair  price,  and 
when  the  time  for  the  Spring  plowing  came,  these 


87 


A Model  Native  City 

necessities  of  agricultural  industry  in  India  were 
to  be  sold  back  to  their  former  owners,  without 
advance  in  price  and  on  easy  terms  of  payment. 
Even  in  these  famine  times  in  Jaipur  the  revenues 
will  meet  the  expenses ; and  large  accumulations  of 
gold  and  jewels  are  said  to  be  still  available  in  the 
treasury. 

The  same  superiority  was  even  more  manifest  in 
the  management  of  the  government  hospital  and 
poor-house.  These  institutions  were  in  every  way 
better  than  those  we  had  seen  at  Ahmedabad.  There, 
the  poor-house  had  formerly  been  a prison.  Into  its 
narrow  and  unsanitary  quarters  had  been  gathered 
514  famished  men,  women  and  children.  They  were 
in  all  stages  of  starvation.  For  the  well  (if  any 
could  be  counted  such)  the  Government  provided  the 
shelter  of  a roof  and  twice  a day  a scanty  supply 
of  food.  They  lay,  however,  on  the  ground  on 
mats,  wrapped  only  in  such  rags  as  they  happened 
to  have,  or  in  a piece  of  hempen  cloth  furnished  as  a 
cover  for  their  nakedness.  At  Ahmedabad  only  the 
sick  had  a cot  and  a blanket  furnished  them.  Eighty- 
six  were  counted  among  the  sick.  But  the  hos- 
pital at  Jaipur  was  clean,  not  over-crowded,  well- 
equipped,  and  at  its  head  was  a thoroughly  educated 
native  doctor  with  a sufficient  corps  of  assistants. 
In  the  poor-house  the  food  was  sufficient  and,  from 
the  native  standpoint,  fairly  good;  and  all  were 
furnished  with  blankets. 


88 


Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  m India 

In  these  matters  and  at  such  trying  times,  as  al- 
ways and  everywhere,  it  is  the  attitude  of  the  people 
toward  their  Government  that  chiefly  counts.  At 
Ahmedabad,  the  people  would  not  work  to  draw  the 
water  from  the  wells  through  the  summer  months, 
when  something  of  their  crops  could  have  been 
saved ; and  now  many  of  them  begged  or  died  of 
starvation  rather  than  go  to  the  public  poor-house, 
because  of  their  persistent  belief  that  the  British 
Government  was  enticing  them  in  there  in  order  to 
murder  them  and  get  them  out  of  the  way.  But  at 
Jaipur,  how  could  his  subjects  suspect  any  plot  of 
that  character  to  be  hatched  against  them  by  their 
own  Raja?  And,  indeed,  the  good  missionary  doctor 
threatened  with  his  whip  the  only  native  who  ap- 
proached the  carriage  to  beg,  because  he  knew  the 
man  wanted  the  money  to  buy  opium  from  a drug- 
shop  near  by. 

There  is  an  amusing  but  authentic  story  con- 
nected with  the  custom  of  that  same  drugshop.  A 
dog  which  had  become  infatuated  with  the  drug 
used  to  station  himself  at  the  corner  near  by  and 
stand  on  his  hind  legs  to  beg  for  the  cash,  on  re- 
ceiving which  he  trotted  off  to  deposit  it  with  the 
merchant  and  get  its  value  in  a bit  of  opium. 

In  this  native  state  the  relations  between  the 
Government  and  the  Christian  missionaries  are  cor- 
dial; and  what  is  more  unusual,  the  relations  of 
the  missionaries  also  with  the  leaders  of  Hindu 


A Model  Native  City 


89 


thought.  Indeed,  from  the  roof  of  the  Museum 
there  was  pointed  out  the  compound  belonging  to 
a protestant  and  reforming  Hindu  sect,  which  was 
at  one  time  very  radical  and  locally  influential. 
Its  founder  was  Dadu,  a contemporary  of  Martin 
Luther.  He  is  said  to  have  left  one  hundred  and 
fifty-two  disciples,  about  fifty-two  of  whom  nothing 
whatever  is  known.  Either  the  founder  or  some  of 
his  immediate  disciples — it  is  disputed  which — left 
a poem  of  some  5,000  verses  of  four  lines  each,  all 
most  carefully  rhymed,  in  which  his  teachings  are 
given  in  detail.  Dadu  rejected  the  authority  of 
the  Brahmans,  disbelieved  in  the  efficacy  of  ritual 
and  sacrifice,  derided  idols ; and  was  in  other  re- 
spects a most  daring  heretic  and  infidel  from  the 
point  of  view  of  Brahmanical  orthodoxy.  At  about 
the  same  time,  not  only  Europe  but  also  India,  and 
not  through  any  means  of  direct  communication 
but  by  virtue  of  the  reactions  which  enforced  re- 
ligious orthodoxy  is  always  sure  to  bring  about,  was 
full  of  revolt  against  the  dogmas  of  the  prevailing 
religion  and  the  domination  of  priestcraft.  The 
heretical  poem  of  Dadu  is  one  of  the  few,  but  most 
interesting,  of  the  survivals  of  the  literature  which 
grew  out  of  this  and  far  earlier  revolts  in  India 
against  the  orthodoxy  of  Brahmanism,  outside  of  the 
writings  of  Buddhism  and  Jainism. 

After  dining  with  Col.  Jacobs,  the  Resident,  and 
getting  from  him  the  more  British,  but  still  highly 


90  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

favorable  report  of  the  situation,  past  and  pres- 
ent, in  Jaipur,  we  returned  to  our  tent  at  10:30,  and 
finding  our  traveling  servant  ensconsed  on  the  mats 
in  one  of  the  flies,  and  a boy  sent  by  the  government 
to  guard  us,  squatted  on  his  heels  before  the  front 
door,  we  went  promptly  to  sleep,  with  a sense  of 
security,  and  slept  soundly  until  we  were  wakened 
for  our  early-morning  start.  This  “sense  of  se- 
curity” had  been  maintained  in  spite  of  a startling 
story  of  the  recent  experience  of  one  of  the  mission- 
ary ladies  whose  night-lodging  had  been  prepared 
similar  to  our  own.  She  was  a new-comer  to  India 
and  had  hitherto  been  skeptical  about  snakes  as  a 
real  danger  under  such  circumstances.  But  one 
night,  when  she  was  kneeling  in  nightdress  beside 
her  bed,  saying  her  prayers,  she  was  aware  of  some- 
thing cold  touching  one  of  her  naked  feet.  Her  first 
impulse  was  to  give  it  a kick,  thinking  it  might  be 
the  puppy  who  was  in  the  room.  But  she  checked  her- 
self in  time  to  save  her  life,  with  the  thought  that 
if  it  were  the  puppy,  she  should  hear  the  sniffing 
noise  he  would  make.  The  “thing”  crawled  slowly 
up  her  bare  leg  until  it  met  the  obstacle  of  her  thigh, 
then  turned  and  slowly  crawled  down  again.  The 
frightened  girl  then  threw  herself  on  her  bed,  fainted 
quite  away,  passed  from  the  fainting  fit  into  a deep 
sleep,  and  did  not  come  to  consciousness  until  in  the 
bright  light  of  morning,  when  she  was  awakened  by 
the  noise  of  her  servant  killing  the  cobra  in  her  bath- 
tub in  the  fly  of  the  tent. 


A Model  Native  City 


91 


We  had  no  molestation  from  any  of  this  kind  of 
terror.  But  my  extraordinary  and  quite  unneces- 
sary precautions  against  robbers  came  near  ending 
disastrously.  For  my  address-book,  with  the  letter 
of  credit  and  other  valuables  inside  it,  had  been  be- 
stowed within  the  case  of  the  pillow  under  my  head; 
and  we  had  come  off  forgetting  it.  However,  a 
telegram  followed  by  a letter,  brought  it  to  us  in 
due  time,  and  not  a thing  was  misplaced  or  missing. 
We  were  then  quite  sure  that  our  experience  of  the 
benefits  of  a paternal  government  in  native  Northern 
India,  when  the  native  Raja  is  wise  and  well-dis- 
posed, and  the  British  Resident  is  judicious  and 
kindly,  was  not  purchased  at  too  high  a price. 


CHAPTER  V 


RELICS  OF  MOGUL  MAGNIFICENCE 

1A  OR  nearly  two  centuries  there  flourished  in 
*■  Northern  India  a succession  of  remarkably  able 
rulers  under  the  general  title  of  the  Mogul  Empire. 
(“Mogul”  is  the  Arabic  and  Persian  form  of  the 
word  Mongol ; but  its  use  is  customarily  restricted 
to  the  Muhammadan  rule  in  India,  as  it  was  founded 
by  the  invader,  Baber,  who  unlike  his  equally  war- 
like ancestor,  Timur,  made  up  his  mind,  after  hav- 
ing conquered  ihe  territory,  to  settle  in  the  plains 
of  Hindustan  and  found  for  himself  a new  empire 
by  the  help  of  his  followers.)  This  period  of  its 
flourishing  began  under  the  rule  of  Akbar,  justly 
called  “the  Great,”  who  was  the  contemporary  of 
Queen  Elizabeth  of  England.  The  man  Akbar  was 
not  only  a great  warrior  and  continued  his  con- 
quests throughout  his  lifetime  until  they  extended 
pretty  well  throughout  all  India,  but  he  was  also  a 
great  statesman  and  civil  administrator.  In  his 
latter  capacity  as  a ruler,  he  so  arranged  the  reve- 
nues from  the  land  that,  with  no  greater  burdens 
laid  upon  the  people  and  taking  into  account  the 

92 


Relics  of  Mogul  Magnificence  93 

greater  purchasing  power  of  the  money  of  that 
day,  they  rivalled  those  got  today  from  the  corre- 
sponding area  by  the  British.  So  much  of  a re- 
ligious liberal  was  this  Muhammadan  emperor  that 
he  put  Mussulmans  and  Hindus  on  the  same  basis ; 
is  said  to  have  had  a wife  who  was  a Christian ; and 
actually  undertook  to  promulgate  a new  state-re- 
ligion which  should  incorporate  the  more  obvious 
truths  of  so-called  natural  theology,  and  include 
the  truths  and  practices  of  all  the  best  religious 
creeds.  Akbar  proclaimed  himself  the  prophet  and 
head  of  this  new  state-church.  Every  morning  this 
monarch  worshiped  the  sun  before  the  public,  as 
being  the  representative  of  the  divine  soul  which 
fills  the  universe ; but  he  allowed  himself  to  be  wor- 
shipped as  divine  by  the  ignorant  multitude. 

The  reigns  of  Akbar’s  son,  Jehangir,  and  of  Je- 
hangir’s  son,  Shah  Jahan,  and  of  his  grandson, 
Aurangzeb— the  three  reigns  extending  from  1605 
to  1707 — cover  the  period  of  the  greatest  magnifi- 
cence and  culminating  power  of  the  Mogul  Empire, 
and  also  the  period  of  the  beginning  of  its  decay. 
Each  of  these  sons  rebelled  against  his  father;  and 
after  the  last  of  them,  Aurangzeb,  “none  of  his  suc- 
cessors to  the  throne  was  anything  higher  than  a 
debauchee  or  a puppet.”  But  how  few  of  all  the 
hereditary  dynasties,  established  by  force  anywhere 
in  the  world  during  the  whole  length  of  its  entire 
history,  have  remained  illustrious  and  firmly  seated 


94  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

during  a longer  time.  And  not  one  of  them  any- 
where has  left  such  glorious  remains  in  one  re- 
spect at  least.  The  reference  is,  of  course,  to  the 
glorious  remains  of  the  architecture  of  the  Mogul 
Empire  which  was  achieved  by  native  and  foreign 
labor,  under  native  and  foreign  influences,  during  the 
reigns  of  these  four  of  its  princes.  It  was  chiefly  to 
rejoice  our  eyes  with  the  sight  of  this  architecture, 
rather  than  to  give  lectures  on  philosophical  or  re- 
ligious topics,  that  we  visited  Delhi  and  Agra. 

Our  host  in  Delhi  was  the  missionary  physician, 
Dr.  Crudgington,  who  had  spent  some  years  and 
made  important  explorations  up  the  Congo,  in  West 
Africa.  After  breakfast  we  at  once  started  on  our 
round  of  sight-seeing  and  went  first  to  The  “Fort” 
which  at  the  time  of  the  Great  Rebellion  was  the 
stronghold  of  the  city  of  Delhi.  Within  its  walls 
had  gathered  an  immense  fanatical  population  with 
a garrison  of  not  less  than  40,000  soldiers,  armed 
and  disciplined  by  the  government  against  which 
they  had  rebelled,  with  114  pieces  of  heavy  artil- 
lery mounted  on  the  walls,  a large  magazine  of  shot, 
shell,  and  ammunition,  and  60  pieces  of  field  artil- 
lery, all  of  British  manufacture,  and  manned  by 
artillery  men  drilled  and  taught  by  British  officers. 
In  those  days  it  was  no  such  easy  task  as  it  would 
now  be  to  reduce  speedily  such  a fortified  position. 
The  British  hesitated  at  first  about  bombarding 
Delhi,  both  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  the  job  and 


THE  STRONGHOLD  OF  THE  CITY  OF  DELHI 


Relics  of  Mogul  Magnificence  95 

also  from  the  fear  of  the  moral  influence  of  failure 
or  long  delay  ; and  as  well,  from  other  scruples.  The 
walls  of  the  inner  city  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Fort 
are  built  of  small  but  exceedingly  hard  brick,  and 
the  masonry  is  so  good  that  they  still  form  a solid 
rocky  rampart  of  fifteen  feet  thick. 

We  were  shown  over  the  Fort  by  a “red-coat” 
who  was  fairly  intelligent  and  otherwise  a good 
guide.  From  the  walls  we  looked  down  upon  the 
Jamma  Musjid,  which  is  reputed  to  be  the  largest, 
as  it  certainly  is  the  most  frequented,  mosque  in 
all  India ; and,  indeed,  for  that  matter,  in  the  whole 
world.  After  the  rebellion  the  British  cleared  a 
broad  highway  straight  from  the  front  of  the  Fort 
to  one  of  the  sides  of  the  Mosque,  in  order  that,  in 
case  of  another  rebellion,  they  might  command  it 
with  the  guns,  without  the  risk  of  injuring  the  in- 
tervening parts  of  the  city  or  killing  its  innocent 
population. 

The  Mosque  at  Delhi  is  certainly  well  worth  the 
sparing  for  its  own  sake  and  without  regard  to  the 
disturbance  which  its  destruction  would  have  occa- 
sioned throughout  the  Mussulman  world.  The  pur- 
ity of  the  architectural  effect  is,  indeed,  somewhat 
diminished  by  a rather  undiscriminating  mixture 
of  red  sandstone  and  white  marble.  But  on  the 
whole  its  exterior  is  most  imposing.  It  has  three 
gateways ; and  it  rises,  a combination  of  huge  fron- 
tispiece, and  domes,  and  four  angle  towers,  and  two 


96 


Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

minarets,  upon  a lofty  basement,  the  whole  giving 
an  effect  of  great  variety,  elegance,  and  size.  The 
gateways  are  surmounted  with  galleries,  on  the  roof 
of  which  are  fifteen  smaller  marble  domes,  with 
spires  tipped  with  gold.  Above  these  are  fluted 
minarets,  six  in  number,  which  have  open  arched 
chambers  at  the  top  and  are  surmounted  with  gilt 
pinnacles.  Each  of  the  three  great  gateways  is 
apjjroached  by  a flight  of  steps  of  unrivalled  gran- 
deur. Under  the  Mogul  Empire  only  the  Emperor 
himself  could  enter  by  the  main  gateway ; and  now, 
only  the  Viceroy  can  enter  by  this  way.  It  is  said 
that  five  thousand  workmen  were  employed  for  six 
years  in  its  construction.  At  the  Northeast  cor- 
ner is  a pavilion  in  which  are  said  to  be  placed  au- 
thentic relics  of  the  Great  Prophet  himself.  Jamma 
Musjid  is  the  pride,  not  only  of  all  India,  but  of 
the  Mussulman  world ; and  if  it  had  perished  under 
what  were  at  the  time  considered  the  necessities  of 
war,  it  is  likely  that  its  destruction  would  have  left 
a sore  hard  to  heal  between  the  conquerors  and  the 
conquered. 

Our  principal  interest  in  the  Fort  was  not  to 
hear  the  story  of  the  part  it  played  in  the  Great 
Rebellion,  but  to  see  the  exquisite  gems  of  Oriental 
“culture”  that  still  remain  “scattered”  here  and  there 
among  the  “bare  and  ugly  British  Barracks.”  Of 
these  gems  the  two  most  famous  are  the  Diwan-i-Am 
or  Hall  of  Public  Audience  and  the  Diwan-i-Khas  or 


9T 


Relics  of  Mogul  Magnificence 

Hall  of  Private  Audience.  The  size  of  the  former 
of  these  magnificent  structures  is,  indeed,  only  one 
hundred  feet  by  sixty,  but  it  was  formerly  all  plas- 
tered with  chunam  and  overlaid  with  gold.  It  was 
in  a recess  at  the  back  of  this  Hall  that  the  cele- 
brated Peacock  Throne,  so  mysteriously  lost,  used 
once  to  stand.  The  “Peacock  Throne”  was  “so 
called  from  its  having  the  figures  of  two  peacocks 
standing  behind  it,  their  tails  being  expanded  and 
the  whole  so  inlaid  with  sapphires,  rubies,  emeralds, 
pearls  and  other  precious  stones  of  appropriate  col- 
ors as  to  represent  life.”  The  French  jeweller, 
Tavernier,  who  saw  the  throne  when  on  a visit  to 
Delhi  in  1665,  describes  its  marvels  as  follows:  “It 
was  of  the  shape  of  a bed,  6 ft.  by  I ft.,  supported 
by  four  golden  feet,  20  to  25  inches  high,  from  the 
bars  above  which  rose  twelve  columns  to  support  the 
canopy.  The  bars  were  decorated  with  crosses  of 
rubies  and  emeralds,  and  also  with  diamonds  and 
pearls.  In  all  there  were  108  large  rubies  on  the 
throne,  and  116  emeralds,  but  many  of  the  lat- 
ter had  flaws.  (In  this  later  remark  we  detect  the 
shrewd  eyes  of  the  trained  expert.)  The  twelve  col- 
umns supporting  the  canopy  were  decorated  with 
rows  of  splendid  pearls.”  Tavernier  estimated  these 
to  be  the  most  valuable  part  of  the  throne,  the  total 
value  of  which  was  estimated  at  £6,000,000.  But 
alas ! since  it  was  carried  off  by  the  Persian  invader, 
although  it  was  for  more  than  a hundred  years  ru- 


98  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  m India 

mored  to  be  still  hoarded  in  the  Treasure  House  of 
the  Shah,  it  has  now  perished  from  sight,  though 
not  vanished  in  oblivion.  But  if  it  had  not  been  the 
Persians  who  stole  it  under  the  title  of  booty,  it 
would  have  been  some  one  else ; for  this  way  of 
acquiring  valuables  is  well  enough  known  both  to 
not  very  ancient  culture,  and  to  still  more  modern 
Kultur. 

The  best  preserved  portions  of  the  Diwan-i-Am 
foreshow  the  style  of  decoration  which  characterized 
all  the  most  splendid  architecture  of  the  Mogul  Em- 
pire. These  are  chiefly  its  engrailed  arches,  and  the 
elegance  of  its  chunam  work  inlaid  with  precious 
stones  or  overlaid  with  gold.  But  it  is  in  the  interior 
of  the  smaller  building,  the  Diwan-i-Khas,  that  “the 
art  of  the  Moguls  reached  the  perfection  of  its  jewel- 
like decoration.”  On  a platform  rises  a pavilion, 
both  of  purest  white  marble,  the  roof  of  which  is  a 
flat  cone  and  which  is  supported  on  a double  row 
of  marble  pillars.  The  inner  face  of  the  arches, 
and  the  spandrils  and  pilasters  which  support  them, 
are  covered  with  a richness  of  flowers  and  foliage 
of  the  most  exquisite  designs  and  delicacy  in  execu- 
tion, crusted  in  green  serpentine,  blue  lapis  lazuli, 
and  red  and  blue  porphyry.  In  Persian  characters, 
repeated  twice  in  the  panels  over  the  narrow  arches 
at  the  ends  of  the  middle  apartment,  beginning  from 
the  East  on  the  north  side  and  from  the  West  at 
the  south  side,  and  all  in  richest  decoration,  runs 


99 


Relics  of  Mogul  Magnificence 

the  famous  inscription:  “If  a paradise  be  on  the  face 
of  the  earth,  it  is  this,  it  is  this,  it  is  this.”  But 
the  builder  of  this  palace  was  forced  to  learn,  like 
all  the  remainder  of  earth’s  millions:  There  is  not, 
and  there  never  has  been,  any  such  paradise  on  the 
face  of  the  earth.  But  perhaps  there  is  no  nearer 
approach  to  the  symbolical  and  apocalyptic  repre- 
sentation of  a sensuous  paradise  than  that  which 
must  have  been  afforded  by  the  architectural  achieve- 
ments and  royal  magnificence  in  living  of  the  Mogul 
Empire  when  it  was  at  its  prime. 

My  record  of  Friday,  December  22,  1899,  runs 
as  follows : “A  great  day,  for  it  has  taken  us  over 

ground  occupied  by  various  successive  dynasties, 
conflicting  religions,  and  contending  races, — a task 
in  sight-seeing  which,  according  to  Keene’s  Hand- 
book for  Visitors,  ought  to  occupy  one  for  not  less 
than  two  days.”  But  our  most  interesting  and  dis- 
tinctive experience  was  not  in  the  way  of  visiting 
ruined  palaces,  tombs,  and  mosques,  and — guide- 
book in  hand — laboriously  digging  out  details  of 
history  and  description,  but  in  the  form  of  what 
might  have  been  a very  serious  encounter  with  a 
crowd  of  rascally  natives. 

We  had  already  climbed  up  to  the  top  of  the  first 
story  of  the  Kutb  Minar  and  had  admired  the  scenery 
from  this  elevation,  but  had  refused,  on  the  ground 
that  it  was  not  worth  while,  to  climb  the  nearly  one 
hundred  feet  still  above  our  heads.  The  origin  of 


100  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

the  Kutb  is  unknown  and  it  is  debated  whether  it  was 
built  by  Hindus  or  their  Muhammadan  conquerors. 
At  any  rate  it  is  a “grand  monument”  to  something 
or  to  somebody,  and  fully  bears  out  its  pretensions 
to  be  a “tower  of  victory,”  “the  most  perfect  tower 
in  the  world,”  one  of  “the  seven  architectural  won- 
ders of  India.”  It  rises  in  a succession  of  five  stories, 
each  one  of  which  is  marked  out  by  corbelled  bal- 
conies and  decorated  with  bands  of  inscription,  to  a 
height  of  more  than  210  feet.  The  first  three  stories 
are  fluted  and  built  of  red  sandstone,  but  the  upper 
two  stories  are  faced  chiefly  with  white  marble.  The 
shaking  which  it  got  by  an  earthquake  in  1803 
threw  down  the  cupola  and  disarranged  the  battle- 
ments and  balconies,  besides  giving  somewhat  of  the 
appearance  of  a lilt  to  the  whole  structure.  But 
it  remains  one  of  the  pieces  of  building  best  worthy 
of  an  admiring  visit  in  all  that  part  of  India. 

Near  the  Kutb  Minar  are  the  ruins  of  a magnifi- 
cent mosque,  which  stands  on  the  platform  of  an  old 
Hindu  temple,  and  the  courtyard  of  which  is  sur- 
rounded by  a mixture  of  Buddhist,  Jain,  and  Hindu 
pillars  placed  one  upon  another.  The  original  or- 
namentation of  many  of  these  columns  has  had  its 
heathenish  beauty  defaced  by  the  religious  fanati- 
cism of  the  Muhammadan  conquerors,  who  took 
pains  to  knock  off  the  heads  of  the  gods  carved 
upon  them,  and  otherwise  attempted  the  removal  of 
all  temptations  to  idol-worship.  An  Arabic  inscrip- 


THE  MOST  PERFECT  TOWER  IN  THE  WORLD 


101 


Relics  of  Mogul  Magnificence 

tion  over  the  eastern  entrance  to  the  courtyard  states 
that  the  materials  were  obtained  from  the  demoli- 
tion of  twenty-seven  idolatrous  temples.  Inside  the 
courtyard  of  the  ruined  mosque  is  a relic  of  ancient 
manufacture  and  art,  which  may  fitly  tame  the 
boastfulness  of  the  Krupp  works  at  Essen  and  the 
furnaces  of  the  U.  S.  Steel  Corporation  at  Pitts- 
burgh and  elsewhere.  It  is  the  “Iron  Pillar,”  cele- 
brated for  its  size  and  its  beauty.  This  pillar  is  a 
solid  shaft  of  wrought  iron,  more  than  sixteen  inches 
in  diameter  and  twenty-three  feet  eight  inches  in 
length.  An  analysis  of  a bit  of  this  pillar  showed 
that  it  is  pure  malleable  iron  of  7.66  specific  grav- 
ity. Its  own  history  is  in  brief  deeply  cut  in  the 
form  of  a Sanskrit  inscription  on  its  western  face. 
It  records  the  fame  of  a Raja  of  the  olden  time, 
who  wished  to  perpetuate  a form  of  bragging  from 
which  his  successors  in  sovereigntjq  both  in  the  East 
and  in  the  West,  have  not  recovered  up  to  the  pres- 
ent time.  “He  subdued  people  . . . and  obtained 
with  his  own  arm  an  undivided  sovereignty  on  the 
earth  for  a long  period.”  He,  too,  was  pious,  how- 
ever, and  wished  to  acknowledge  that  the  gods  had 
something  to  do  with  the  effectiveness  of  the  energy 
of  “his  own  arm”;  for  Raja  Dhava  was  a worship- 
per of  Vishnu,  and  the  pillar  was  probably  sur- 
mounted by  a figure  of  that  deity.  The  date  of 
the  pillar’s  erection  is  put  in  the  third  or  fourth 
century  A.  D.  How  the  workmen  managed  to  han- 


102  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  vn  India 

die  such  a mass  of  iron  is  perhaps  no  harder  to  im- 
agine than  how  they  handled  the  stones  of  nearly 
seventy  feet  in  length  and  thirteen  or  more  in  height 
which  lie  at  the  foundations  of  the  unfinished  temple 
at  Baalbek. 

When  we  descended  from  the  Tower  we  were  be- 
sieged by  an  invitation  to  visit  the  “Jumping  Well” 
and  see  the  quasi-vaudeville  performance  which, 
for  a small  fee,  would  be  given  there.  At  first  we 
were  reluctant,  for  there  was  much  more  than 
enough,  set  down  in  the  guidebook  as  important,  to 
make  an  extremely  full  and  tiresome  day.  But  here 
was  something  to  see  which  was  not  ordinarily  pro- 
vided, and  which,  as  the  adventure — though  it  might 
have  resulted  quite  differently — actually  turned  out, 
quite  compensated  for  both  money  and  physical  ef- 
fort. It  afforded  us  a rather  unique  experience  of 
native  craft  and  cowardice. 

The  “Jumping  Well”  was  distant  a full  half-mile 
away,  and  since  the  sand  was  deep,  *the  sun  was 
hot,  and  there  was  no  trace  of  any  path,  the  walk 
was  not  an  altogether  pleasant  one.  But  our  guide, 
who  as  the  event  clearly  showed,  had  something 
more  than  a merely  friendly  interest  in  enticing  us 
thither,  kept  momently  repeating  the  reassuring  as- 
sertion that  we  were  now  already  there.  When  we 
did  reach  the  place,  the  well  itself  proved  worthy  of  a 
special  visit  for  a traveler  who  had  never  before 
seen,  in  its  better  Oriental  form,  such  a source  of 


Relics  of  Mogul  Magnificence  103 

perennial  joy  and  safety.  The  well  itself  was,  I 
should  judge,  eight  or  ten  feet  in  diameter  (there 
were  no  exact  measurements  accessible),  and  was 
said  to  be  120  feet  in  depth.  It  looked — but  prob- 
ably was  not  really — as  much ; and  it  was  lined  to 
the  bottom  with  most  excellent  solid  masonry.  On 
one  of  its  sides  was  sunk  a square  pit,  of  perhaps 
fifteen  or  more  feet  across,  also  with  walls  of  good 
stone-work,  to  about  half  the  depth  of  the  well;  and 
from  this  pit,  to  the  bottom  of  which  descended  a 
substantial  stone  staircase,  iron  doors  opened  at  in- 
tervals into  the  well.  This  was  all  designed  so  that 
the  water  could  be  stored  as  it  rose  to  various 
heights ; and  so  that,  as  it  sank  to  lower  depths,  the 
lower  doors  might  be  opened  in  succession,  from 
which  the  women  might  let  down  buckets  into  the 
waters  below. 

On  our  arrival  we  found  a curious  and  ill-looking 
crowd  of  native  men  and  boys  already  gathered, 
doubtless  to  see  how  the  foreign  sahib  would  stand 
being  fleeced,  and  to  what  extent.  We  were  at  once 
escorted  to  a little  raised  mound  of  earth  from 
which  we  could  look  over  the  high  curb  of  masonry 
and  see  to  the  bottom  of  the  well.  In  one  of  the 
doors  below,  but  probably  about  forty  or  fifty  feet 
from  the  surface  of  the  water,  stood  a naked  man. 
“Look,  he  will  jump,”  said  the  master  of  the  jump- 
ers, speaking  with  the  authority  and  pride  of  an 
Arabian  “master  of  the  horse.”  We  looked,  and 


104  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

he  did  jump,  plump  into  the  water  below;  and  then 
we  turned  away.  “Look  again,  and  still  another 
will  jump,”  said  the  manager  of  the  show.  Some- 
what tardily,  yet  in  time  to  see  that  a man  did 
jump,  we  looked  again;  and  then  we  turned  away 
in  very  decided  and  final  manner  and  with  the  air  of 
one  sated  with  the  daring  or  mystery  of  a spectacle 
provided  at  so  small  a fee.  To  the  urgent  exhorta- 
tion to  look  and  see  yet  others  take  the  “daring”  ad- 
venture— you  cannot  call  it  by  any  word  which 
smacks  of  tragedy,  for  the  jumps  were  made  feet 
foremost;  and  yet  let  us  say  as  much — we  refused 
to  be  witnesses : instead  of  looking  over  the  curb 
down  the  well,  we  stood  erect  with  our  resolve  and 
looked  the  swindling  manager  of  the  show  right  in 
the  eye.  But  we  did  hear  two  splashes  in  the  water, 
as  though  some  one  may  have  jumped.  (We  were 
afterward  told  that  sometimes,  when  they  are  not 
carefully  watched,  they  expedite  matters  by  throw- 
ing large  stones  instead  of  themselves  down  the  well.) 
However  all  this  may  have  been,  in  an  incredibly 
short  time  four  men,  dripping  with  water  and  hastily 
slipping  their  breechcloths  on,  stood  before  us;  and 
for  all  four  the  manager  began  to  demand  the  cus- 
tomary backshish  of  a half-rupee  each.  “But  I 
saw  only  two  of  them  jump,  and  I will  pay  for  only 
two.”  At  this  a wordy  argument  began,  which  be- 
came more  cool  but  decided  on  the  one  part,  and  on 
the  other  more  excited  and  even  threatening.  Final- 


WALLS  OF  GOOD  STONE  WORK 


105 


Relics  of  Mogul  Magnificence 

ly,  this  part  of  the  contest  ended  with  a seemingly 
final  settlement:  “Well,  then,  if  you  will  not  give 

two  rupees,  give  one  rupee.”  A single  rupee  was 
then  handed  to  the  man  who  most  looked  like  the  one 
we  had  first  seen  jump;  and  he  was  instructed  to 
divide  it  with  the  other  man,  whom  we  could  not  rec- 
ognize but  who  had  actually  been  the  second  one 
to  have  the  honor  of  displaying  such  fortitude  and 
skill  before  our  eyes. 

The  implied  declaration  that  this  was  to  be  an 
amicable  settlement  of  the  controversy  did  not  cor- 
respond to  the  sequent  truth  of  fact.  For  at  once, 
the  demands  for  another  rupee  became  more  insolent 
and  threatening;  and  a larger  and  more  ugly  crowd 
was  all  the  while  gathering.  Our  guide  had  antici- 
pated the  situation  and  had,  as  a matter  of  caution 
for  his  own  hide,  or  in  view  of  his  responsibility  to 
the  government  for  the  safety  and  freedom  from  in- 
sult of  his  foreign  guests,  already  taken  to  flight. 
Not  even  in  the  distance  was  he  anywhere  to  be  seen. 
It  was  certainly  time  for  matters  to  be  taken  firmly 
into  our  own  hands.  The  woman  was  therefore 
placed  in  front,  and  at  some  distance  behind  came 
the  man  who,  as  a part  of  his  marriage  vows,  had 
promised  ‘to  protect,”  with  an  angry  crowd  of  na- 
tives close  by  his  side  or  at  his  heels.  Finally,  it 
seemed  necessary  to  take  some  more  decided  meas- 
ures to  solve  the  problem  of  escaping  actual  assault. 
This  may  be  expected  from  the  natives,  only  when 


106  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

they  are  in  much  superior  numbers,  and  you  are 
alone  and  unarmed  somewhere  on  the  sands  or  in 
the  jungles  of  India.  I therefore  adopted  the  fol- 
lowing strategy  (I  use  the  personal  pronoun  in  re- 
counting this  rather  Quixotic  adventure,  for  I be- 
lieve it  is  the  only  time  I have  assumed  the  positively 
warlike  attitude  since  I was — then  a boy — drilling 
for  the  Union  army).  I quickly  furled  my  umbrella, 
converted  it  into  a club,  turned  and  advanced  upon 
the  enemy,  brandishing  my  weapon,  looking  inde- 
scribably fierce,  and  snarling  like  a tiger.  The  ef- 
fect was  instantaneous  and  highly  satisfactory.  The 
whole  pack  slunk  away  and  let  us  go  unmolested. 

This  trivial  incident  is  told  with  some  detail  be- 
cause it  is  so  distinctive  of  the  temper  of  the  low- 
lived native  crowd  in  India,  and  of  the  way  in  which 
it  is  necessary  and  possible  to  control  them.  For 
we  were  really  in  some  danger ; and  if  certain  condi- 
tions had  been  allowed  to  develop,  there  would  have 
been  no  little  danger  in  the  situation  just  described. 
Indeed,  not  long  afterward,  there  was  published  an 
account  of  a lady  and  gentleman  among  the  foreign 
visitors,  who  at  this  same  “Jumping  Well,”  and 
doubtless  by  this  same  crowd,  had  been  thrown  upon 
the  ground,  badly  beaten,  and  robbed  of  considerable 
money.  The  same  characteristics  may  be  illustrated 
on  a larger  scale  by  what  happened  in  Bombay  not 
long  before  our  visit  to  that  city.  A score  of 
English  policemen,  with  no  demonstration  of  violence 


107 


Relics  of  Mogul  Magnificence 

on  their  part,  and  without  making  any  arrests,  kept 
at  bay  thousands  of  riotous  natives,  highly  excited 
at  the  efforts  of  the  Government  to  suppress  the 
plague,  in  the  streets  of  Byculla.  But  if  a scuffle 
had  taken  place,  and  one  of  those  policemen  had 
been  set  upon  by  the  mob  and  forced  to  the  ground, 
he  would  speedily  have  been  trampled  to  death  or 
torn  in  pieces.  Such  a mixture  of  cowardice  and 
cruelty  are  multitudes  of  the  lower  classes  in  India. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  great  body  of  the  agricultural 
classes — and  the  great  body  of  the  people  belonging 
to  all  classes — are  of  a gentle  and  kindly  temper; 
and  some  of  the  tribes,  especially  of  Northern  India, 
are  as  brave  and  sturdy  and  faithful  warriors  as  can 
be  found  anywhere. 

Among  the  things  we  saw  that  day  as  we  returned 
to  the  city  of  Delhi  by  another  route,  these  two 
were  the  most  notable:  the  Tomb  of  Safdar  Jang 
and  the  Tomb  of  Humayun.  In  the  cemetery  not  far 
from  the  former  is  the  burial  place  of  the  Poet 
Khusrau,  which,  although  he  died  in  1315,  is  still 
kept  continually  crowned  with  flowers.  It  was  to 
the  latter  tomb  that  Bahadur  Shah  fled  and  there 
concealed  himself  after  the  British  had  stormed 
Delhi  in  1857 ; and  outside  of  it  he  and  his  sons, 
when  they  had  been  forced  to  surrender,  were  taken 
and  shot. 

Our  stay  at  Delhi  was  made  both  interesting  and 
instructive  by  our  intercourse  with  the  missionaries, 


108  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

— those  whom  we  met  being  for  the  most  part  of  the 
English  Baptist  Mission.  Our  host,  Dr.  Crudging- 
ton,  was  one  of  those  who,  under  the  auspices  of 
this  Mission,  had  made  the  first  ascent  of  the  Congo 
from  the  West  Coast  as  far  as  Stanley  Pool.  He 
had  many  thrilling  narratives  to  tell  of  his  experi- 
ences with  natives  and  wild  animals.  Among  them 
one  of  the  most  amusing  was  an  encounter  with  an 
African  chief  who,  under  pretence  of  hospitality, 
was  trying  to  detain  the  party  indefinitely  that  he 
might  have  a favorable  opportunity  for  murdering 
them  and  getting  possession  of  their  guns  and  blan- 
kets. But  the  Doctor  having  ordered  all  to  be  ready 
on  a certain  early  morning,  held  out  his  hand  in 
farewell  to  his  murderous  host,  and  looking  him 
straight  in  the  eye,  tightened  his  grip  upon  the  black 
man’s  hand  until  the  fellow  went  down  on  his  knees 
before  him,  howling  with  pain, — thus  unconsciously 
illustrating  the  psycho-physical  truth  that,  in  gen- 
eral, the  white  races  have  a stronger  “grip,”  phys- 
ical and  mental,  than  the  black. 

To  illustrate  the  benefits  of  a large  mixture  of  the 
“paternal”  element  in  dealing  with  the  natives  of 
India,  we  learned  of  the  same  conditions  of  economic 
and  social  injustice  prevailing  here  which  we  had 
noticed  elsewhere.  In  the  last  great  famine,  that  of 
1897,  thousands  of  bushels  of  grain  were  being  stored 
in  the  granaries  of  the  native  dealers  for  export  to 
foreign  countries,  while  England  and  America  were 


Relics  of  Mogul  Magnificence  109 

sending  gifts  of  food  to  save  the  starving  in  the  same 
region.  But  it  is  not  in  India  alone,  it  is  perhaps 
pre-eminently  in  our  own  country,  that  the  ethics 
of  distribution,  and  not  the  limit  of  production,  is 
the  greater  economic  problem. 

On  our  way  from  Delhi  to  Agra  we  had  one  of  sev- 
eral experiences  with  the  extremely  unsatisfactory 
management  of  the  state-railways  of  India.  The 
first-class  car  was  scarcely  fit  for  a freight  car;  and 
although  the  distance  was  only  139  miles,  it  took 
the  entire  time  from  9 A.  M.  to  5 :30  P.  M.  to  cover 
it.  The  chief  reason  for  this  is  that  everything  is 
subject  to  the  needs,  and  even  the  caprices,  of  the 
officials,  civil  and  military,  rather  than  to  any  fair 
extent,  to  the  needs  and  the  comforts  of  the  traveling 
public. 

Of  all  the  places  in  India,  and  perhaps  in  the 
whole  world,  for  seeing  sights  of  wholly-or-half-de- 
parted  magnificence  in  things  made  by  human  hands, 
Agra  is  the  chief.  For  this  reason,  and  because  our 
visit  to  Agra  had  little  significance  or  result  other 
than  the  seeing  of  these  sights,  we  may  be  pardoned 
for  telling  what  we  saw  in  somewhat  more  of  the 
guide-book  style. 

Immediately  after  our  first  breakfast,  our  host, 
Dr.  Valentine,  drove  us  in  his  cart  to  Sikandra, — 
Miss  Valentine  accompanying  us  on  her  wheel.  The 
road  is  that  over  which  the  Moguls  used  to  go  to 
Lahore  or  Kashmir, — the  so-called  “Appian  Way” 


110  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

of  Agra  to  Lahore.  On  the  road  we  passed  one  of 
the  cos-minar,  or  cone-shaped  stone  pillars,  like 
those  the  Romans  used  to  set  up,  which  were  em- 
ployed by  the  Mogul  I'uler,  Jehangir,  to  mark  the 
path  over  the  plains  when  as  yet  no  highway  had 
been  constructed ; and  where  relays  of  horses  used 
to  be  stationed  for  the  better  despatch  of  messages 
requiring  haste.  At  Sikandra  (or  Sikandarah)  is 
the  tomb  of  Akbar  the  Great,  which  in  its  present 
condition  was  constructed  by  Jehangir,  his  son,  in 
1613  A.  D.  The  gateway  leading  into  the  garden 
which  surrounds  the  Tomb  is  of  red  sandstone,  in- 
laid with  white  marble,  and  with  a splendid  scroll,  a 
foot  broad,  adorning  it.  Many  of  the  stones  which 
pave  the  way  from  the  gate  to  the  Tomb  are  in- 
scribed with  the  names  of  the  donors ; others  have 
cabalistic  signs  upon  them,  especially  a form  of  X 
which  was  supposed  to  be  effective  in  guarding 
against  the  evil  eye. 

The  architecture  of  the  tomb  itself  is  very  pe- 
culiar. It  is  a pyramidal  building  of  four  stories; 
three  of  them  are  of  red  sandstone,  and  the  fourth, 
where  Akbar’s  cenotaph  rests,  is  of  white  marble.  A 
massive  cloister,  broken  by  high  central  arches,  runs 
around  the  lower  story.  The  vaulted  ceiling  of  the 
vestibule,  now  faded,  was  originally  elaborately  fres- 
coed in  gold  and  blue.  A gentle  incline  leads  to  the 
chamber  where  the  great  monarch  rests.  Narrow 
staircases  lead  to  the  fourth  and  highest  platform 


THIS  MOSQUE  MAY  BE  LIKENED  TO  A PRECIOUS  PEARL 


Ill 


Relics  of  Mogul  Magnificence 

which  is  surrounded  by  a cloister  of  white  marble, 
carved  on  the  outside  into  lattice-work,  every  square 
of  which  has  a different  pattern.  In  the  center  of 
the  platform  is  the  white  cenotaph  of  Akbar,  just 
over  where  his  body  was  laid  away  in  the  dark  vaulted 
chamber  below.  On  the  north  side  of  the  ceno- 
taph is  inscribed  the  motto  of  the  sect  he  founded : 
“Allahu  Akbar,”  “God  is  greatest and  on  the 
south  side:  “Jalla  Jalalahu,”  “May  His  glory  shine.” 
On  the  top  of  a white  marble  pillar,  which  stands  at 
the  head  of  the  sarcophagus,  was — so  the  story  runs 
— set  in  gold  the  celebrated  diamond,  Koh-i-Nur. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  we  visited  the 
Fort  and  the  palaces  of  Akbar  and  Jehangir,  but 
such  splendors  of  architecture  have  been  for  our 
purposes  sufficiently  described  in  connection  with  the 
visit  at  Delhi.  The  same  thing  is  not,  however,  true 
of  the  Moti  Musjid  or  Pearl  Mosque.”  This  struc- 
ture Fergusson  describes  as  “one  of  the  purest  and 
most  elegant  buildings  of  its  class  anywhere  to  be 
found.”  The  “purest  and  most  elegant,”  which  we 
saw  in  India,  I am  quite  ready  to  say.  The  exterior 
of  this  mosque  is  faced  with  red  sandstone,  but  the 
interior  is  covered  over  with  marble,  some  white, 
some  blue,  and  some  gray-veined.  The  mosque  prop- 
er, as  it  stands  within  its  wonderfully  beautiful 
courtyard,  has  three  aisles  of  seven  bays  opening  on 
the  courtyard,  and  is  surmounted  by  three  domes. 
There  is  a front  row  of  supporting  pillars,  on  the 


112  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

eastern  entablature  of  which  an  inscription  runs  the 
whole  length  in  letters  of  black  marble  inlaid  into  the 
white.  The  inscription  says  that  this  mosque  may 
be  likened  to  a precious  pearl;  for  no  other  mosque 
is  lined  throughout  with  marble  like  this. 

If,  however,  we  may  compare  a tomb  with  a 
mosque,  the  mausoleum  erected  to  the  memory  of 
the  Persian  adventurer,  whose  daughter  married 
Shah  Jehan’s  son,  and  who  became  high  treasurer  of 
Jehangir,  is  for  its  carved  work  in  marble  still  more 
wonderful.  The  tomb  of  I’timadu-Daulah  is  exter- 
nally all,  and  internally  in  part,  encased  in  white 
marble,  and  beautifully  inlaid  with  pietra  dura  work. 
On  each  side  of  this  square  building  there  are  window 
recesses  filled  with  exquisite  lattice-work  in  marble; 
in  each  of  the  corners  there  rises  an  octagonal  tower. 
The  side-chambers  of  the  mausoleum  are  panelled 
with  slabs  of  inlaid  marble;  but  the  upper  part  of 
the  walls  and  the  ceiling  are  lined  with  plaster  which 
is  ornamented  with  paintings  of  flowers  and  long- 
necked vases.  In  the  thickness  of  the  outer  walls 
are  two  flights  of  stairs,  which  ascend  to  the  second 
story.  Here  the  pattern  of  the  floor  is  the  most 
suggestive  of  bold  free-hand  drawing  in  inlaid  work 
of  anything  which  we  had  seen. 

But  the  afternoon  of  this  day  was  reserved  for 
the  first  of  our  two  visits  to  that  building,  the  work 
of  the  affection  for  a woman  which  has  been  so  al- 
most universally  acclaimed  as  the  “most  beautiful 


113 


Relics  of  Mogul  Magnificence 

building  in  all  the  world.”  This  is  the  supreme  ex- 
pression of  the  praise  of  the  Monguls  as  builders, 
that  “they  designed  like  Titans  and  finished  like 
jewellers.”  The  glory  of  Agra,  “the  most  splendidly 
poetic  building  in  the  world,”  is  the  Taj  Mahal.  But 
although  the  Taj  has  been  perhaps  more  frequently 
copied  and  more  abundantly  described  than  any 
other  building  in  the  world,  it  needs  perhaps  more 
than  any  other  building  to  be  seen  to  be  appreciated. 
And  this  is  for  three  reasons : Like  every  great  and 
beautiful  piece  of  architecture,  it  depends  for  its 
beauty  on  its  surroundings ; its  only  fitting  sur- 
roundings are  the  Oriental  atmosphere  as  it  prevails 
in  Northern  India;  and  its  beauty  is  so  largely  dec- 
orative, although  it  has  also  the  beauty  of  form  and 
proportion.  Let  us  then  at  once  agree  with  the 
writer  who  says : “It  can  only  be  described  as  a 

dream  in  marble.”  And  let  us  repeat  with  a qualified 
approval  the  words  of  Lord  Roberts : “Neither 

words  nor  pencil  could  give  to  the  most  imaginative 
reader  the  slightest  idea  of  the  all-satisfying  beauty 
and  purity  of  this  glorious  conception.  To  those 
who  have  not  already  seen  it,  I would  say,  ‘Go  to 
India.  The  Taj  alone  is  well  worth  the  journey’  ” — 
all  of  which  is  fine  enthusiasm  for  the  beautiful  in  a 
hardened  (?)  warrior. 

We  shall  not  try  either  to  describe  in  detail  the 
Taj  Mahal,  or  to  narrate  any  of  our  dreams  before 
or  inside  of  it ; but  we  shall  only  state  a fact  or  two 


114  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

about  it,  of  the  more  obvious  sort,  and  then  refer 
the  reader  to  the  illustration  or  to  his  memory- 
picture  of  the  reality.  In  front  of  the  garden  in 
which,  seemingly  far  away,  stands  the  Taj  is  a gate- 
way of  red  sandstone  inlaid  with  white  marble  and 
surmounted  by  twenty-six  white  marble  cupolas. 
Pass  the  gateway,  and  you  find  yourself  in  a lovely 
garden,  beds  of  which  ax*e  filled  with  the  choicest 
shrubs  and  with  cypress  trees  of  great  size  and 
beauty.  Through  the  center  of  the  garden  and  for 
its  entire  length  runs  a channel  of  water,  which  has 
no  fewer  than  twenty-three  fountains  distributed 
along  its  course.  In  front  of  this  channel  and  at  the 
back  of  the  garden  rises  a platform,  faced  with 
white  marble,  313  feet  square  and  18  feet  high,  with 
a white  minaret  at  each  corner,  133  feet  high.  In 
the  center  of  this  platform  stands  the  mausoleum  it- 
self. The  size  of  the  building  is  a square  of  186 
feet,  with  the  corners  cut  off  to  the  extent  of  33^2 
feet.  The  principal  dome  is  58  feet  in  diameter  and 
80  feet  in  height.  The  dome,  which  is  built  of  brick, 
is,  however,  faced  with  white  marble,  so  that  the  en- 
tire building  appears  composed  of  this  material, 
including  the  smaller  domes  which  are  placed  at  each 
of  the  four  corners. 

But,  as  has  already  been  said,  besides  the  stand- 
ards of  beauty  of  form  and  material,  tbe  Mogul  ar- 
chitecture must  be  especially  signalized  for  its  ex- 
quisite decoration.  It  is  less  conspicuously  true  that 


THEY  DESIGNED  LIKE  TITANS  ANb  FINISHED  LIKE  JEWELLERS 


Relics  of  Mogul  Magnificence  115 

it  was  designed  by  Titans  than  that  it  was  finished 
as  jewellers  finish  the  most  beloved  of  their  works. 
All  the  spandrils  of  the  Taj,  all  the  angles  and  more 
important  details,  are  inlaid  with  precious  stones. 
While  lacking  the  simplicity  and  freedom  of  Greek 
decorative  art,  it  has  therefore  the  lavish  luxurious- 
ness which  is  so  acceptable  to  the  Oriental  taste. 

But  it  is  on  entering  the  central  chamber,  be- 
neath which  the  bodies  of  Shah  Jehan  and  Mumtaz-i- 
Mahal,  the  best  beloved  wife,  who  after  bearing  him 
seven  children  died  in  child-bed  of  the  eighth,  are 
resting  in  a vault ; and  after  taking  time  to  gaze 
upward  and  around  in  thoughtful  and  appropriate 
mood, — that  the  chastened  appreciation  of  the 
beauty  of  the  mausoleum  reaches  its  most  calm  and 
finished  form.  Here,  under  the  center  of  the  central 
dome,  enclosed  by  a trellis-work  screen  of  white 
marble,  “a  chef  d’oenvre  of  elegance  in  Indian  art,” 
and  seen  in  the  softly  illuminated  gloom  of  the  dis- 
tant and  half-closed  openings  which  surround  them, 
are  the  “show  tombs”  of  those  whose  bodies  lie  be- 
neath the  floor.  And  he  who  looks  must  agree  with 
him  who  has  written:  “No  words  can  express  the 
chastened  beauty  of  that  central  chamber.” 

By  agreement  of  all  who  have  been  able  to  enjoy 
the  experience,  a single  visit  to  the  Taj  is  not 
enough ; and  the  second  visit  should,  if  possible,  be 
taken  by  moonlight.  We  could  not  control  the 
moon,  but  we  were  fortunate  enough  to  be  able  to 


116  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

control  our  own  movements.  We  therefore  went 
again,  this  time  by  ourselves,  my  wife  and  I ; and 
escaping  the  escort  of  the  insistent  guides,  we  took 
our  fill  of  the  architectural  beauties  of  the  interior 
of  the  Taj  Mahal.  And  to  the  delights  of  the  eye 
we  added  the  delights  of  the  ear,  which  were  all  the 
more  delightful,  because  unexpected.  For  when  she 
sang  up  into  that  marble  dome,  so  far  away  above 
our  heads,  there  came  back  such  an  echo  as  I have 
never  heard  and  never  expect  to  hear  again.  There 
was  no  woodenness  or  metallic  harshness  in  that  echo. 
Only  to  imagine  the  purest  white  marble  singing 
“up  aloft”  and  far  away,  like  a heavenly  but  inar- 
ticulate choir. 

It  is  almost  shameful  to  add  any  criticism  of  the 
architectural  perfection  of  the  Taj  Mahal,  even 
when  seen  in  the  most  sympathetic  spirit  and  from 
the  most  favorable  points  of  view.  But  one  may 
agree  with  Fergusson  in  complaining  of  a certain 
stiffness  of  outline.  And  to  this  I venture,  timidly, 
to  add  that  two  details  are  rather  offensive  to  me. 
These  are:  First,  that  the  small  projecting  pinnacles 
which  continue  the  small  minarets  have  a somewhat 
weak  and  finical  look ; and,  second,  that  the  con- 
trast between  the  common  and  rather  vulgar  inlaid 
work  on  the  lower  part  of  the  exterior  and  the  much 
more  delicate  work  at  the  higher  levels,  is  too  abrupt. 
We  do  not  wonder,  however,  that  when  Shah  Jehan 
lay  dying  in  his  palace  across  the  river,  he  asked 


117 


Relics  of  Mogul  Magnificence 

to  be  carried  to  the  tower-room,  so  that  his  last 
gaze  might  bridge  the  Jumna  and  linger  on  the  Taj 
Mahal,  the  tomb  of  his  beloved. 

Another  of  our  interesting  excursions  during  our 
stay  in  Agra  was  of  a totally  different  character; 
but  it  is  worth  recording.  It  was  to  the  Government 
Jail.  Here  carpets,  which  have  become  somewhat 
celebrated  both  in  England  and  in  the  United  States, 
were  being  woven.  Of  the  2,000  prisoners  detained 
here,  more  than  700  were  employed  in  weaving  rugs 
and  blankets,  and  about  500  in  extra-mural  work. 
The  system  of  guards  was  very  interesting.  Only 
three  English  officers  were  in  charge ; but  all  the 
guards  were  natives, — among  them  a good  many 
Burmese ; and  all  except  those  who  were  acting  as 
turnkeys,  were  convicts.  Their  reward  for  faithful 
work  is  seven  days  off  on  each  month’s  term  of  im- 
prisonment. One  immense  carpet  was  being  woven 
for  Queen  Victoria  as  a present  from  a former 
teacher  in  the  jail  who  had  become  a great  “swell” 
and  one  of  her  Majesty’s  pets.  He  had  taught  the 
Queen-Empress  a little  Persian,  and  had  been  most 
liberally  rewarded,  to  the  disgust — it  was  freely  re- 
ported— of  the  then  Prince  of  Wales  and  of  all  the 
officers  in  the  British-India  service.  I recalled  with 
approval  the  plan  of  employing  prisoners  in  work 
that  may  encourage  assthetical  talent,  and  give  the 
mind  such  uplifting  activity  and  comfort  as  the 
exercise  of  any  art  may  bring;  for  I had  seen  the 


118  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

thing  better  organized  and  more  effective  for  good 
in  some  of  the  prisons  of  Japan.  The  untoward 
truth  was  that  fully  two-thirds  of  these  prisoners 
are  discharged  only  to  come  back  again ; whereas, 
under  the  helpful  influence  of  a few  benevolent  and 
Christian  workers,  more  than  eighty  per  cent  of  the 
convicts  discharged  from  some  of  the  Japanese  pris- 
ons are  permanently  reformed.  This  difference  may 
have  been  partly  due  to  the  fact  that  here  in  India 
there  was  no  prison  school,  except  for  the  boys,  and 
no  religious  services  of  any  kind, — the  latter  omis- 
sion being  made  almost  imperative  by  the  dreadful 
curse  of  caste. 

On  our  long  journey  from  Agra  to  Calcutta  we 
had  our  usual  “mixed”  experience  with  the  manage- 
ment of  the  railways  in  India.  We  arrived  at  Tund- 
la  Junction  a little  late,  but  not  long  after  one 
o’clock  A.  M.  No  attention  had  been  paid  to  our 
telegram  asking  for  a reservation ; and  since  the  plat- 
form was  crowded  with  intending  passengers  for  the 
Punjab  mail,  the  chances  for  sitting  up  all  night 
seemed  altogether  too  favorable.  When  the  through 
train  arrived  at  3 :30  P.M.  I discovered  that  the  lady 
who  was  the  sole  occupant  of  the  exclusively  re- 
served “ Damen-coupee ” was  getting  out ; and  into 
this  we  posted,  in  spite  of  official  regulations;  but  on 
promising  not  to  “give  away”  the  station-master, 
and  to  vacate  myself  at  Cawnpore,  should  any  lady 
passenger  appear  to  claim  it,  we  were  both  allowed 


Relics  of  Mogul  Magnificence  119 

to  remain.  Since  there  was  meanwhile  no  more  le- 
gitimate applicant,  I stayed  on  till  Allahabad,  where 
we  had  a late  breakfast.  But  on  coming  out  with  a 
cup  of  coffee  for  the  lady  companion*  who  had  pre- 
ferred to  stay  by  the  luggage  and  secure  her  seat 
in  the  car,  the  trouble  began  again;  for  a meddle- 
some female  employee  of  the  R.  R.  Company  had 
instigated  the  station-master  to  do  his  solemn  duty, 
and  had  placed  him  under  fear  of  being  disciplined 
by  threatening  to  inform  against  him.  When,  how- 
ever, the  lady  flatly  refused  to  be  left  alone,  and  her 
escort  as  flatly  refused  to  leave  her,  unless  she  had 
the  protection  of  some  lady  companion,  or  unless 
the  first-class  compartment  for  which  he  had  paid  in 
Bombay  were  provided  for  them  both  together,  that 
was  at  once  done  which  could  easily  have  been  done 
without  any  controversy.  A compartment,  much 
better  than  the  one  we  had  occupied  thus  far,  was 
found,  and  coolies  ordered  with  all  haste  to  transfer 
our  luggage.  The  total  expense  of  all  this  righteous 
treatment  was  not  large,  much  less  than  it  would 
have  been  in  Europe,  where,  too,  such  things  are 
extremely  likely  to  happen  (sic). 

All  day  long  we  were  passing  through  a compara- 
tively uninteresting  country,  but  with  the  gratifying 
sight  of  increasing  improvement  as  respected  the 
traces  of  the  ravages  of  famine  and  plague.  Indeed, 
from  Mogul  Serai  eastward,  miles  of  plain,  as  far 
away  as  the  eye  could  reach  in  any  direction,  and 


120  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

level  as  any  of  our  prairies,  were  green  with  “tender 
croppes and  although  it  was  mid-winter,  the  rich 
foliage  of  beautiful  trees  greeted  the  eye, — made  to 
it  more  grateful  because  it  had  become  so  wearied 
and  almost  tearful  with  the  sight  of  only  stunted 
and  withered  bushes  and  white  dust. 

On  awaking  the  second  morning  we  found  our- 
selves going  through  a green  and  swampy  country 
with  a “jungle”  not  far  from  either  side  of  roadway, 
in  character  better  to  correspond  to  the  conception 

1 had  framed  of  an  Indian  jungle  than  did  the  so- 
called  jungles  in  Western  India.  When  we  arrived 
in  the  station  in  Howrah,  the  terminal  of  the  city 
of  Calcutta,  only  about  twenty  minutes  late,  we 
found  our  host,  Dr.  Hector,  still  waiting  for  us; 
and  we  were  forthwith  conveyed  to  his  residence,  No. 

2 Cornwallis  Square. 


THE  GLORY  OF  AGRA:  A DREAM  IN  MARBLE 


CHAPTER  VI 


GLORIOUS  DARJEELING 

THE  Ramayana,  that  sacred  epic  which  has  be- 
come the  Old  Testament  of  one  of  the  Vishnu 
sects  of  the  present  day,  declares  of  the  mountains 
in  Northern  India:  “As  the  dew  is  dried  up  by  the 
morning  sun,  so  are  the  sins  of  mankind  dried  up 
at  the  sight  of  Himalchal.”  In  less  chaste  and  pious 
language  a modern  traveler  has  written : “When 

God  gave  men  tongues  he  never  dreamed  they  would 
want  to  talk  about  the  Himalyas ; there  are  conse- 
quently no  words  in  the  world  to  do  it  with.”  Sated 
as  our  minds  were  with  the  sight  of  the  most  mag- 
nificent works  of  human  architectural  skill,  now  lying 
in  pathetic  half-ruined  and  neglected  condition,  we 
were  ready  to  turn  with  the  greater  eagerness  and  in 
a spirit  of  adoration  to  a vision  of  the  vaster  and 
more  enduring  works  of  God.  Therefore,  it  was 
determined  to  spend  the  week  intervening  between 
our  arrival  in  Calcutta  and  the  beginning  of  the 
course  of  lectures  there,  in  a visit  to  Darjeeling  for 
a view  of  this  most  glorious  of  snow-covered  moun- 
tain-ranges, or — as  the  English  familiarly  call  them 

121 


122  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

when  seen  from  this  point  of  view — “The  Snows.” 
Nor  is  the  more  familiar  name  inappropriate;  for 
the  Sanskrit  word,  Himachal  or  Himalaya,  signifies 
“snow-abode”  or  “snow-mountain.”  We  set  out 
with  some  anxiety,  however,  and  with  the  prayer 
that  heaven  would  at  least  for  a few  minutes  roll  up 
or  blow  away  the  thick  enveloping  screen  of  winter 
clouds;  for  there  have  been  those,  and  not  a few, 
who  have  come  thousands  of  miles  and  waited  weeks 
for  this  sublime  and  purifying  vision ; but  have  gone 
away  at  last  without  it. 

After  a busy  over-Sunday,  filled  quite  full  witfy 
open-air  and  indoor  services,  we  took  the  3 :30  P.  M. 
train  and  started  on  our  fateful  journey.  As  usual, 
the  experiences  on  the  railway  were  not  calculated 
to  conduce  to  one’s  comfort  or  to  soothe  one’s  tem- 
per. Our  servant  had  gone  in  ample  time  to  secure 
the  accommodations  to  which  we  were  entitled  by 
our  tickets ; but  scarcely  had  we  got  seated  when 
the  compartment  was  invaded  by  a troup  of  “sojer 
boys”  with  loads  of  supplies  and  abundant  courage 
with  which  to  capture  all  the  occupied  but  unforti- 
fied territory  of  the  car.  Of  course,  according  to 
railway  regulations,  they  had  no  right  there.  We 
capitulated,  however,  and  gave  up  one  side  of  the 
compartment  with  the  understanding  that  we  might 
retain  possession  of  the  other.  There  were  other 
troubles  by  the  way.  At  one  of  the  junctions  we 
were  detained  an  hour  by  an  accident  which  had 


Glorious  Darjeeling 


123 


happened  in  the  morning  to  two  of  the  “goods- 
trains further  on,  for  another  hour  by  a “hot- 
box  so  that  we  arrived  at  the  Ferry  of  the  Ganges 
tired,  hungry,  and  cross. 

But  the  memory  of  these  petty  annoyances  quickly 
faded  quite  away  as  we  crossed  the  sacred  river,  just 
as  the  sun  was  slowly  setting,  on  the  evening  of  that 
New  Year’s  day.  The  peaceful  stream,  on  whose 
banks  and  in  whose  flood  so  many  millions  of  human 
beings  have  worshipped,  bathing  and  praying,  and 
to  which  they  have  sacrificed  themselves  and  their 
offspring,  to  us  who  felt  nothing  of  its  summons  to 
fearful  deeds  and  degrading  superstitions,  was  only 
a solace  and  a charm.  The  excellent  dinner  which 
was  served  during  the  more  than  an  hour  of  cross- 
ing, of  ham  and  capon  and  plum  pudding,  over 
which  brandy  was  poured  and  then  burned  so  that 
it  might  fling  its  own  heat  into  the  open  air  rather 
than  have  it  confined  to  the  injury  of  animal  or- 
ganism, lent  to  the  scenery  its  ameliorating  influ- 
ences. 

Arrived  at  the  other  bank  of  the  great  river,  we 
took  the  Northern  Bengal  Railway,  which  is  only  a 
meter  gauge,  and  by  the  cheerful  connivance  of  a 
friendly  “guard”  secured  a compartment  for  our- 
selves. Before  we  lay  down  without  undressing  on 
the  not  very  clean  but  very  hard  beds,  we  had  a 
chance  to  notice  that  this  part  of  Bengal  seemed 
well-favored  agriculturally  and  that  the  inhabitants 


124  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

had  an  appearance  of  greater  vigor  than  prevailed 
among  the  inhabitants  further  South. 

After  a night  spent  at  Siliguri,  we  rose  early, 
followed  the  instructions  to  put  on  extra-warm  cloth- 
ing, and  for  the  sake  of  obtaining  better  views  chose 
an  open  car,  in  which  to  make  the  ascent  of  the 
foothills  of  the  Himalayas.  The  Himalayan  Rail- 
way is  only  a two-foot  gauge;  its  cars  are  raised 
only  a step  above  the  ground,  so  that  they  may 
“sit  tight,”  as  the  saying  is ; each  car  holds  only 
eight  persons,  two  in  a seat  facing  each  other,  in 
each  of  the  compartments  into  which  the  car  is  di- 
vided, but  only  part  of  the  way  to  its  roof.  The 
railway  runs  beside  the  highway,  which  had  previ- 
ously been  constructed  at  enormous  cost  (in  spite  of 
the  cheapness  of  native  labor,  the  expense  is  said  to 
have  reached  £6,000  per  mile),  perpetually  crossing 
and  recrossing  it,  and  with  it  zigzagging  up  the 
mountain’s  side.  In  the  great  disaster  of  the  land- 
slide at  Darjeeling,  in  the  September  previous  to  our 
visit,  the  upper  part  of  this  railway  had  been  quite 
completely  wrecked.  And  as  we  were  soon  to  dis- 
cover, it  had  not  yet  been  completely  repaired. 

For  some  miles  the  Himalayan  Railway  runs 
straight  away  over  a well-watered  and  fertile  plain 
and  on  a grade  so  nearly  level  that  one  need  not 
suspect  mountains  to  be  within  a hundred  miles. 
When  the  real  ascent  begins,  however,  the  scenery 
becomes  more  varied  and  picturesque.  It  is  mid- 


125 


Glorious  Darjeeling 

winter;  it  is  the  most  northeastern  part  of  India; 
and  we  are  going  to  see  the  enormously  deep  and  ex- 
tended snowfield  of  “The  Snows.”  But  2,500  feet 
above  the  sea  level,  the  cocoanut  palms  are  growing; 
up  to  more  than  4,500  feet,  the  bananas  and  the 
almond  trees  are  in  blossom,  and  lettuce  and  other 
green-stuff  is  being  cultivated  in  the  little  gardens 
picked  out  among  the  stones  on  the  mountain’s  side. 
The  views  down  the  ravines  thousands  of  feet  below 
would  now  be  magnificent ; but  alas ! at  Kurseong, 
5,000  feet  above  the  sea,  we  run  into  the  clouds  and 
do  not  come  out  again  until  we  have  reached  Dar- 
jeeling. Of  this  station  (Kurseong)  in  the  moun- 
tains we  are  told  that  they  who  walk  out  in  damp 
weather  must  beware  of  the  leeches ; and  that,  al- 
though there  are  no  tigers  around,  there  are  pan- 
thers which  sometimes  carry  off  the  cattle. 

Thousands  of  natives — from  Thibet  and  from 
Nepal,  Lepchas,  Bhoteas,  Pahareas,  and  others — 
are  at  work  repairing  the  road.  Huge  baskets  of 
earth  and  great  stones  are  carried  upon  the  backs 
and  heads  of  the  women,  many  of  whom  are  well  ad- 
vanced in  pregnancy;  while  the  men  are  engaged  in 
the  work  of  dressing  and  laying  the  stone.  In  places 
the  sustaining  walls  rise  in  terraces  for  more  than  a 
hundred  feet  from  the  valley  below. 

At  the  terminal  of  the  railway — at  present  not 
signaled  by  any  station  since  the  road-bed  had  not 
yet  been  made  good  quite  so  far  as  the  Town  of  Dar- 


126  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

jeeling — we  were  met  by  our  host,  and  proceeded 
to  sort  ourselves  out,  so  to  say,  in  preparation  for 
the  climb  of  a mile  to  his  house.  A round  dozen  of 
sturdy  mountain  maidens,  with  features  like  Esqui- 
maux or  Alaskan  Indians,  fought  with  us  and  with 
one  another  for  the  luggage.  After  we  had  selected 
two,  beaten  off  the  others,  and  loaded  the  luggage 
on  the  backs  of  the  successful  applicants  for  this 
job  of  porterage,  we  mounted  the  lady  into  the 
“dandy,”  in  which  she  was  to  be  borne  aloft  on 
the  backs  of  four  men.  Mr.  Brown  and  I on  foot 
led  the  cavalcade  up  the  hill.  At  the  Manse  we 
were  cordially  greeted  and  led  to  our  bedroom  where 
a fire  was  smouldering.  The  bearers  of  the  luggage 
followed  us  and  were  as  sturdy  in  begging  for  back- 
shish, after  they  had  received  much  more  than  their 
dues,  as  they  had  been  in  begging  and  fighting  for  the 
privilege  of  earning  it.  Nor  until  I had  forcefully, 
though  gently,  turned  them  out  and  closed  the  door 
behind  them,  did  they  disappear,  alternately  growl- 
ing and  chuckling. 

After  tea  and  scones  Mr.  Brown  and  I set  out  for 
a stroll  to  the  place  where  the  slides  occurred  that 
had  been  a few  months  before  so  fatal  to  one  of  the 
missionary  schools.  The  amazing  thing  seemed,  that 
sane  persons  should  continue  to  erect  buildings  in 
such  hazardous  places,  in  view  of  Darjeeling’s  past 
experience  with  landslides.  But  as  not  infrequently 
happens  in  such  cases,  the  school  having  the  most 


127 


Glorious  Darjeeling 

obviously  perilous  situation  escaped  without  loss  of 
life ; while  the  schools  that  had  appeared  to  be  more 
safely  situated  were  carried  down  the  mountain’s 
side  and  buried  in  stone  and  mud  too  deep  for  resur- 
rection. A visit  was  also  paid  to  “Observatory  Hill,” 
where  some  fine  views  of  cloud  effects  and  of  the  vil- 
lage of  Darjeeling  were  obtained;  but  nothing  could 
be  seen  of  the  snow-mountains,  the  whole  range  of 
which  was  thickly  shrouded  in  clouds. 

We  went  to  bed  that  night  with  minds  apprehen- 
sive of  disappointment  on  the  morrow;  for  although 
the  stars  were  out,  the  prospect  was  not  good  for  a 
clear  sunrise.  On  waking  early  and  hurrying  to  the 
window,  through  the  lower  sash  one  looked  out  into 
thick  cloud.  But  one  must  look  aloft  if  one  wishes 
to  see  above  the  clouds  the  tops  of  mountains  like 
Kinchin janga ; and  through  the  window’s  upper  sash 
the  giant’s  enormous  white  head  and  shoulders  ap- 
peared, showing  itself  as  well  as  it  could  in  the  grey 
twilight  before  the  risen  sun  had  driven  the  night’s 
darkness  quite  away.  It  was  necessary  to  forego 
morning  tea  and  do  part  of  one’s  dressing  on  the 
run,  in  order  to  reach  Observatory  Hill  before  the 
sun  should  overtop  the  horizon  of  the  lower  moun- 
tains in  the  East  and  light  up  the  great  Western 
range.  But  such  limitations  of  appetite  and  leisure- 
ly toilet  were  amply  rewarded. 

And  now  let  us  display  a few  physical  facts  in 
order  to  help  the  imagination  re-create  the  picture 


128  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

of  what  we  saw  on  that  memorable  morning  of  Janu- 
ary 3,  1900.  We  were  standing  on  a “Hill”  more 
than  seven  thousand  feet  above  sea  level,  facing 
Westward,  with  our  backs  to  the  now  just  rising  sun. 
On  the  right  the  mountain’s  side  fell  away  in  a suc- 
cession of  ravines  for  thousands  of  feet,  so  ab- 
ruptly that  it  required  no  great  stretch  of  imagina- 
tion to  picture  ourselves  as  standing  on  the  edge  of 
one  vast  precipice  and  looking  down  into  its  depths 
a full  mile  below.  On  the  left  hand,  on  the  slopes 
of  the  Hill  and  in  the  cup-shaped  valley  at  its  foot, 
nestled,  picturesquely,  the  village  of  Darjeeling.  In 
front  of  us,  not  far  away,  was  an  enormous  gulf, 
the  bottom  of  which  appeared  smoothly  paved  with 
the  tops  of  the  clouds  colored  as  though  under 
the  moonlight ; and  up  through  them  broke  the  crests 
of  mountains  that  were  15,000  ft.  and  16,000  ft. 
high,  and  some  of  them  higher  still.  But  these  were 
not  “ The  Snows.”  The  range  entitled  in  a special 
way  to  be  named  Himachal,  the  “snowy,”  for  more 
than  a hundred  miles  in  a line  somewhat  diagonal 
and  at  distances  varying  from  about  thirty  miles 
to  more  than  eighty  miles,  rose  on  our  Western  hori- 
zon to  unparalleled  heights,  as  though  determined  to 
support  or  rival  Kinchinjanga,  their  chief,  in  its 
enormous  bulk  and  altitude  of  more  than  28,000 
feet.  And  since  it  was  January,  and  the  snows  had 
descended  to  their  lower  seasonable  level,  there 
greeted  our  w'ondering  eyes  a hundred  miles  of  such 


THE  RANGE  TO  BE  NAMED  IIIMACHAL,  THE  SNOWY 


129 


Glorious  Darjeeling 

lofty  mountains  with  a “snow-abode,”  or  “snow- 
field,”  having  a depth  by  perpendicular  measurement 
of  from  5,000  to  more  than  15,000  feet. 

As  we  surmounted  the  crest  of  the  “Hill,”  and 
stood  panting  with  the  exertion,  that  happened  which 
we  had  come  thousands  of  miles  cherishing  the  hope 
to  see  happen ; the  sun  tipped  its  rim  over  the  East- 
ern hills  and  covered  all  this  vast  “snow-abode”  with 
color  of  rose. 

For  twenty  minutes  more  we  watched  the  varied 
play  of  rising  mists,  snowy  mountains  recovering 
from  their  morning  blush  and  turning  a dazzling 
white,  and  changing  cloud-effects;  and  then  a veil 
was  drawn  over  the  whole.  We  went  back,  by  the 
same  path  but  by  no  means  so  fast  as  we  had  come, 
to  drink  our  morning  cup  of  tea  by  a hospitable 
fire.  Then  once  more  the  heavens  smiled  and  threw 
off  their  veil  of  clouds.  Since  the  mountain  could 
be  seen  from  the  manse,  but  not  nearly  so  grandly 
fine,  another  start  was  made  for  “Observatory  Hill.” 
This  time  the  view  was  equally  grand  in  its  general 
features,  but  interrupted  with  intervals  of  over- 
spreading cloud,  which  had  the  effect  of  painting  the 
views  of  the  landscape  below  in  terms  of  chiaro- 
scuro rather  than  in  color  of  rose.  A human  element 
was  now  added  to  the  interest  of  the  scene.  A priest 
was  kneeling  before  a small  shrine  on  the  hill-top, 
burning  incense,  tinkling  a bell  unceasingly  with  his 
left  hand,  and  with  his  right  pouring  out  milk  and 


130  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  m India 

offering  rice, — all  the  meanwhile  intoning  verses  of 
prayer.  The  only  words  which  our  native  com- 
panion and  traveling  servant  could  understand  were : 
“Great  god,  hear  me;  great  god,  hear  me.”  But 
soon  a solitary  worshipper,  a woman,  came  to  hang 
colored  bits  of  cloth  upon  the  poles  and  stunted  trees 
around  the  shrine.  As  for  the  priest,  he  was  ap- 
parently more  concerned  to  attract  our  attention 
than  the  attention  of  his  god, — in  respect  of  which 
latter  result  the  ceaselessly  tinkling  bell  was  expected 
to  do  all  needed  service.  What  the  poor  woman 
wanted — it  might  be  any  one  of  many  things,  for 
doubtless  her  life  was  full  of  unalleviated  bitter  wants 
— we  had  no  means  of  conjecturing,  since  she  did  not 
once  speak.  Perhaps  it  was  for  a man-child  to  be 
born  of  her;  or,  perhaps,  hers  was  a prayer  for  daily 
bread.  For  her  the  colored  rags  were  to  inform  the 
god,  whenever  he  graciously  consented  to  inspect 
them.  But  if  one  is  to  worship  the  Great  God,  whose 
are  the  hills,  what  place  on  earth  is  fitter  for  the 
“lifting  up  of  the  eyes”  to  Him,  than  Observatory 
Hill,  Darjeeling? 

There  has,  indeed,  been  worship  offered  to  the  sun 
and  to  the  mountains  from  this  same  spot  for  hun- 
dreds and  perhaps  for  thousands  of  years.  At  pres- 
ent most  of  the  worship  here  is  Buddhistic, — Bud- 
dhism being  the  prevalent  religion  among  the  Tibe- 
tans. The  Lepchas  are,  however,  for  the  most  part 
devil-worshippers.  Among  the  whole  of  the  native 


131 


Glorious  Darjeeling 

population  in  this  region,  by  whatever  title  they 
are  called,  or  care  to  call  themselves,  substantially 
the  same  low,  vague  religious  consciousness  prevails, 
which  is  half  superstitious  fear,  and  half  a blend  of 
more  indefinitely  religious  emotions.  Clear  con- 
sciousness, and  especially  definite  theological  views 
of  any  sort,  are  almost  totally  lacking  among  the 
natives  in  the  mountainous  regions  of  Northeastern 
India. 

Besides  the  views  of  the  Himalayas  there  are  al- 
most no  things  worth  seeing  in  Darjeeling  and  its 
neighborhood.  There  is,  however,  one  temple  of  a 
distinctly  Tibetan  type  in  the  village  of  Bhutia 
Busti,  about  a mile  from  Darjeeling.  In  the  after- 
noon of  the  day,  therefore,  I set  out  with  my  native 
companion  to  visit  this  temple  and  notice,  if  possible, 
any  variations  from  the  outfit  and  ceremonies  of  the 
low-class  Buddhistic  temples  as  I had  seen  them  in 
many  other  places.  There  was  some  difficulty  in 
finding  the  place,  for  the  miserable  dwellers  in  the 
huts  of  this  wretched  village  seemed  grudging  in  their 
directions  to  the  right  way,  while  all  were  clamoring 
vociferously  for  annas  as  a fee  for  acting  as  our 
guides.  Finally,  however,  we  reached  the  spot  over 
a muddy  and  filth-bestrewn  path,  and  were  non- 
chalantly informed  that  we  could  not  see  the  inside 
for  less  than  eight  annas.  Several  ugly-looking  and 
dirty  Lhamas  were  loafing  about,  and  other  of  the 
lay  brethren  of  the  Bhutias  were  currying  horses 


132  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

just  outside  the  temple.  As  we  came  in  front  of  the 
structure,  one  of  the  priests  offered  to  set  the  prayer- 
wheels  a-going  for  the  regulation  price.  When  I had 
him  informed  that  I had  seen  much  better  temples 
for  two  annas,  he  no  more  seemed  to  appreciate  my 
attempt  at  a jest  than  did  the  acolyte  guide  who,  in 
the  crypt  of  the  Coptic  Church  in  Cairo,  was  show- 
ing me  where  Joseph  and  Mary  sat  at  the  time  of 
their  flight  into  Egypt,  when  I asked  him  why  hus- 
band and  wife  sat  so  far  apart;  but  he  was  equally 
eager  for  the  backshish,  and  promptly  reduced  the 
fee  to  the  two  annas.  In  the  lack  of  any  intelligent 
guide  who  could  speak  English,  and  in  view  of  the 
dangerously  filthy  look  of  the  interior  of  the  temple, 
and  the  fierce  aspect  of  the  men  in  whose  escort  we 
should  be  confined,  we  came  away  content  with  hav- 
ing looked  through  the  window  upon  the  gods  and 
their  shrines  of  Bhutia  Busti. 

There  is  another  point  of  view  from  which  “The 
Snows”  can  be  seen  to  great  advantage,  that  was 
easily  accessible  from  the  Manse  where  we  were 
staying.  This  is  Jalapahar,  the  hill  where  is  now 
situated  the  British  cantonment  for  invalided  sol- 
diers. The  cantonment  had  been  earlier  built  at 
great  expense  on  Mount  Sinchal,  8,400  feet  above 
sea  level;  but  after  three  years’  occupancy  it  was 
abandoned  because  so  many  of  the  officers  and  sol- 
diers committed  suicide  on  account  of  overpowering 
loneliness. 


133 


Glorious  Darjeeling 

On  the  second  day  of  our  stay,  therefore,  we  rose 
early  and,  in  spite  of  the  prevailing  thick  clouds, 
climbed  Jalapahar  in  the  hope  of  seeing  another 
sunrise  on  the  Himalayas.  There  were  beautiful  but 
restricted  Hews  to  be  obtained  by  the  way.  But 
when  we  had  reached  the  top  and  had  followed  the 
path  through  the  grounds  of  the  cantonment  to  the 
extreme  edge  of  the  cliff  on  which  it  stands, — clouds 
and  mist  having  suddenly  been  swept  away, — the 
effect  was  so  unexpected  and  surprising  that  I burst 
into  a shout  and  clapped  my  hands  for  joy.  We 
were  now  standing  8,000  feet  above  sea  level,  and 
looking  off  on  snowy  mountains,  the  highest  of  which 
towered  more  than  20,000  feet  above  the  point  of 
view.  A veil  of  mist  covered  them,  as  nearly  as  the 
inexpert  eye  could  essay  to  measure  such  a thing, 
to  the  height  of  about  14,000  feet.  The  vale  below 
us  and  the  nearer  and  lower  heights  were  seen  with 
all  that  beauty  of  cloud  effects, — fleeting  lights  and 
hurrying  shadows, — of  which  only  such  mountains 
are  capable;  while  across  the  higher  altitudes  of  the 
mountains  themselves  the  fleecier  clouds  were  draw- 
ing slowly  in  changing  and  fantastic  shapes  or  lin- 
gering lovingly  around  them.  We  had  speechless, 
because  inexpressible  enjoyment  for  a full  half-hour 
of  this  sort;  and  we  then  came  down  to  spend  the 
rest  of  the  day  writing  letters  and  shivering  with  the 
cold. 

The  next  morning  was  set  for  our  starting  back  to 


184  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

Calcutta  where  the  lecturing  was  to  begin  on  the 
following  Monday.  But  we  were  going  to  walk  along 
the  heights  and  sides  of  Jalapahar  to  the  station  at 
Ghoom,  four  miles  from  the  Manse;  and  there  was 
hope  of  getting  other  grand  views  of  “The  Snows” 
from  several  points  on  the  way.  This  hope  became 
courage  when,  just  as  we  were  about  to  rise,  there 
was  a rap  on  the  bedroom  door,  and  the  voice  of  our 
host  called  out  cheerily : “The  Snows  are  visible 

and  will  be  clearer  soon.”  From  the  front  of  the 
Manse  we  saw  the  Himalayas  once  more  rose-colored 
with  the  rising  sun ; but  within  a brief  half  hour  the 
clouds  gathered  around  them  again.  This  was  as 
though  they  were  jealous  of  their  proud  beauty,  lest 
too  long  or  too  frequent  display  of  it  should  render 
it  common  for  mortal  eyes. 

With  two  coolies  carrying  the  luggage,  and  Mr. 
Brown  walking  with  us  and  acting  as  guide,  while 
his  syce  led  the  horse  on  which  he  expected  to  ride 
back,  we  set  out  for  Ghoom.  Various  glimpses  and 
fuller  views  of  the  mountains,  all  varying  in  particu- 
lars or  in  the  type  of  their  characteristic  beauty, 
were  allowed  us  by  the  way ; and  after  we  had  taken 
one  last,  fond  lingering  look  at  Himachal  we  came 
down  to  the  iron  bands  of  the  railway,  so  suggestive 
of  human  achievements  and  human  misdoings,  if  not 
with  our  sins  dried  up,  as  “the  dew  in  the  morning 
sun,”  at  least  with  memories  which  will  greaten  and 
lift  up  the  spirit  until  all  memories  forever  fail. 


Glorious  Darjeeling 


135 


Besides  the  reward  of  so  many  of  the  grandest 
sights  which  nature  can  afford,  we  had  picked  up 
many  facts  about  the  natives  and  their  relations  to 
the  Government,  that  shed  some  light,  in  however 
half-comical  a way,  upon  the  difficulties  which  beset 
the  more  familiar  relations  of  the  two.  The  children 
of  these  mountain  regions  swarm  and  seem  much 
more  hardy  and  better  fed,  in  spite  of  any  law  of 
Malthus,  than  are  the  children  in  the  plains  below. 
But  here,  as  everywhere,  the  curse  of  the  peasants 
is  the  money-lender  and  the  rice-merchant.  It  is  not 
uncommon  for  the  poor,  when  they  have  to  borrow 
in  order  to  get  seed  or  to  save  themselves  from  star- 
vation, to  be  charged  seventy-five  per  cent  compound 
interest.  I was  told  of  one  crofter,  who  in  a time 
of  drought  had  run  in  debt  for  IOV2  rupees  (about 
$4.50)  worth  of  rice.  Five  years  later  he  had  paid 
on  the  loan  76  rupees,  and  still  owed  140  rupees. 
Surely  monts  de  piete  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Government  would  be  a decided  godsend  to  the  poor 
in  many  parts  of  India. 

But  some  means  would  have  to  be  devised  to  pro- 
tect the  dependents  themselves  from  becoming  ulti- 
mately the  chief  sufferers  from  the  help  rendered  to 
them  too  freely.  For  nowhere  in  the  world  is  the 
general  principle  that  injudicious  and  excessive  help 
from  others  weakens  or  destroys  the  desire  and  the 
power  of  self-help,  more  flagrantly  illustrated  than 
among  the  natives  of  India, — especially,  perhaps, 


136  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

the  natives  of  Bengal.  Of  all  types  of  men  rendered 
worthy  of  pity,  but  incapable  of  winning  respect, 
there  is,  so  far  as  my  experience  has  gone,  scarcely 
another  so  conspicuous  as  are  a moiety  of  the  Ben- 
galese babas.  Now  the  word  “babu,”  it  should  be 
understood,  is  properly  a polite  form  of  addressing 
a Hindu  gentleman,  corresponding  fairly  well  to  our 
“Sir”  or  Mr. ; but  it  has  come  to  be  disparagingly 
used  of  a Bengal  youth  who,  having  received  a part 
of  a university  education,  or  only  having  made  a 
“try”  at  some  of  the  examinations,  affects  the  man- 
ners of  an  Englishman,  expects  to  be  regarded  as 
a preferred  candidate  for  some  petty  government  po- 
sition, and  thus  to  secure  a larger  dowry  from  the 
father  of  the  girl  whom  he  condescends  to  marry. 
But  surely,  we  should  get  down  from  the  mountains 
to  the  lower  and  more  sordid  things  of  life  in  India, 
before  we  pursue  this  subject  further. 

On  the  journey  down  to  Siliguri,  although  there 
was  always  much  cloud,  we  had  opportunity  to  mar- 
vel at  the  magnitude  of  the  work  done  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  Darjeeling-Himalava  Railway,  and 
to  wonder  at  the  grandeur  and  beauty  of  the  scenery 
which  is  visible  from  its  tracks.  And  when,  toward 
sunset  we  came  in  sight  of  the  plain  of  all  North- 
eastern India  lying  some  2,000  feet  below ; its  green 
and  greyish  fields,  and  river  courses,  and  pools,  shin- 
ing like  a mosaic  of  gold  and  silver,  stretching  away, 
and  stretching  upward,  until  they  united  with  the 


Glorious  Darjeeling 


137 


sky  in  one  limitless  Turneresque  picture,  and  all 
flooded  and  blended  with  the  glory  of  the  light  of 
the  setting  sun;  we  were  content  to  return,  refreshed 
and  purified  by  intercourse  with  nature,  to  ordinary 
intercourse  with  mortal  and  sinful  man. 

Arrived  at  Siliguri,  we  found  that  a letter  from 
our  kind  and  thoughtful  host  at  Darjeeling  had  se- 
cured us  a sleeping  compartment.  At  sunrise  we 
were  crossing  the  Ganges,  and  after  a really  hot  bath 
— the  first  in  six  days — and  tiffin  in  Calcutta,  estab- 
lished the  habit  of  looking  back  on  the  trip  to  Dar- 
jeeling with  an  absolutely  perfect  satisfaction. 


CHAPTER  VII 


THE  CAPITAL  CITY 

IN  its  situation  and  external  aspects  the  City  of 
Calcutta  does  not  compare  at  all  favorably, 
either  for  its  beauty  or  its  interesting  sights,  with 
the  City  of  Bombay.  Instead  of  being  surrounded 
on  three  sides  by  the  sea  and  backed  by  imposing 
hills,  it  lies  straggling  along  a dirty  river,  at  an 
elevation  of  only  about  twenty  feet  above  tidewater. 
Like  Bombay,  it  has  a large  commerce  with  which 
are  concerned  ships  from  all  parts  of  the  world ; but 
its  port  is  too  thin  and  ragged  to  be  impressive. 

Moreover,  the  Hugli  is  a very  difficult  and  danger- 
ous stream  to  navigate,  not  only  on  account  of  the 
cyclones,  in  some  of  which  a storm-wave  has  over- 
whelmed thousands  of  people  living  along  the  banks, 
but  also  because  its  shoals  are  so  constantly  chang- 
ing that  only  a daily  experience  of  the  changes  can 
enable  the  pilot  to  take  his  ship  safely  to  its  dock. 
The  Hugli  cannot  be  navigated  at  all  at  night,  and 
in  the  daytime  only  when  it  is  at  flood  tide.  Nor 
are  the  buildings  and  public  places  of  Calcutta  as 
fine  as  those  of  Bombay.  The  same  thing  is  true  of 

138 


139 


The  Capital  City 

its  principal  streets,  whether  used  for  business  or 
for  residence  purposes. 

Perhaps  a more  important  difference  is  due  to  the 
inferiority  in  enterprise  and  social  development  of 
the  native  inhabitants  of  Calcutta.  There  are  al- 
most no  Parsees  here, — the  race  which  we  found 
to  be  so  wealthy  and  influential  in  the  rival  city  of 
Western  India.  Although  there  are  now  several  hun- 
dred thousand  Muhammadans  resident  in  Calcutta, 
this  class  have  never  had  such  control  of  affairs  here, 
where  the  comparatively  modern  enterprise  of  the 
English  East  India  Company  planted  itself,  as  to 
leave  any  impress  upon  its  architecture  comparable 
to,  or  even  resembling,  that  of  Delhi  and  Agra.  Of 
the  Hindu  natives  the  great  majority  are  Bengalis ; 
and  of  the  Bengalis,  by  no  means  the  unif ormly  best 
have  gathered  into  its  capital  city. 

At  the  time  of  our  visit  Calcutta  was  the  capital 
city,  not  only  of  the  Bengal  Presidency  but  also 
of  the  entire  British  Government  in  India.  Since 
then,  in  1905,  the  Province  has  been  divided,  in  spite 
of  much  dissatisfaction  and  display  of  rebellious 
spirit  on  the  part  of  its  people.  The  reason  as- 
signed for  the  partition  was  its  unwieldy  character. 
However  valid,  or  invalid,  this  reason  may  have 
been,  the  uncertain  and  turbulent  nature  of  the  Ben- 
galis, as  they  were  even  at  that  late  day  in  this 
capital  city,  may  be  better  understood  if  we  empha- 
size the  following  picture  of  the  populations  con- 


140  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

trolled  from  the  beginning  under  the  British  Gov- 
ernment of  the  Province  of  Bengal.  “The  people,” 
we  are  informed,  “exhibit  every  stage  of  progress, 
and  every  type  of  human  enlightenment  and  super- 
stition, from  the  educated  classes  to  primitive  hill- 
tribes.  On  the  same  bench  of  a Calcutta  college  sit 
youths  trained  up  in  the  strictest  theism;  others  in- 
doctrinated in  the  mysteries  of  the  Hindu  trinity 
and  pantheon ; with  representatives  of  every  link  in 
the  chain  of  superstition — from  the  harmless  offer- 
ing of  flowers  before  the  family  god  to  the  cruel  rites 
of  Kali,  whose  altars  in  the  most  civilized  districts 
of  Bengal,  as  lately  as  the  famine  of  1866,  were 
stained  with  human  blood.” 

There  were  two  subjects,  however, — and  these  in 
importance  inferior  to  no  others, — in  which  the 
weeks  spent  in  Calcutta  were  superior  to  all  oth- 
ers, with  respect  to  the  information  they  imparted 
and  the  insight  which  they  tended  to  stimulate. 
These  were  the  effects,  including  both  benefits  and 
deficiencies,  of  the  British  system  of  educating  the 
natives  of  India ; and  the  successes  and  failures  of 
the  various  efforts  of  the  native  leaders  at  social 
and  religious  reform.  The  thoroughness  and  detail 
of  the  investigation  in  these  two  directions  which 
I was  able  to  make  were  very  much  increased  by  the 
facts  that  there  was  then  in  Calcutta  no  prevalence 
of  plague  or  famine  to  interfere  with  the  smooth  run- 
ning of  the  educational  institutions ; and  that  the 


The  Capital  City 


141 


Brahmo-Somaj  were  holding  their  annual  meetings 
and  were  therefore  greatly  in  evidence;  that  we  were 
being  entertained,  in  the  most  familiar  and  friendly 
way,  in  the  families  of  two  of  the  leading  missionary 
colleges;  that  Mr.  Kali  Banurji,  a thoroughly  edu- 
cated lawyer,  the  most  influential  and  universally 
respected  and  beloved  of  all  the  converts  from  Hin- 
duism, gave  almost  his  entire  time  to  being  our  guide 
and  instructor ; and  that  the  leaders  of  the  Brahmo- 
Somaj,  and  the  heads  of  the  various  educational  and 
religious  institutions,  and  even  the  Viceroy  himself, 
showed  us  the  very  extremes  of  frankness  and  cour- 
tesy. 

Before  we  speak  of  these  more  important  matters, 
however,  a few  words  about  the  lectures — the  audi- 
ences which  attended  them  and  the  reception  which 
they  met — will  not  be  without  instruction  bearing 
on  what  is  to  follow.  They  were  given  in  the  eve- 
ning, in  a large  hall,  on  the  “Philosophy  of  Relig- 
ion,” and  under  the  auspices,  more  particularly,  of 
the  missionary  colleges.  These  missionary  colleges 
are  “aided,”  however,  by  the  Government,  and  are 
considered  an  integral  part  of  the  Calcutta  Uni- 
versity. At  the  beginning  of  the  first  lecture  the  hall 
was  crowded ; but  several  hundred  of  those  present 
were  boys  who  showed  that  their  only  motive  for 
coming  was  curiosity,  by  getting  up  and  leaving  the 
room,  one  by  one  or  in  groups  of  half-a-dozen  or 
more.  However,  the  audience  that  stayed  by  until 


142  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

the  introductions,  lecture,  and  concluding  remarks 
were  over,  numbered  five  hundred  or  more.  It  was 
necessary  to  learn  and  practice  composure  in  the 
sight  of  such  fickleness ; but  this  it  was  not  particu- 
larly difficult  to  do  as  soon  as  it  became  apparent 
that  the  custom  was  prevalent  among  the  Bengalis 
of  the  student  classes,  and  meant  no  particular  dis- 
respect to  any  particular  speaker.  The  lesson  was 
afterward  of  considerable  use  in  addressing  Korean 
audiences,  who,  in  this  as  in  some  other  regards,  re- 
semble those  of  Bengal.  Besides,  the  attraction  to 
make  an  early  exit  was  often  increased  by  the  fact 
that  nearly  opposite  the  hall  where  the  lectures  were 
given  the  meetings  of  the  Brahmo-Somaj  people  were 
being  held  nightly ; and  that  they  had  adopted  the 
measures  of  the  Salvation  Army  for  drumming  up 
an  audience  by  heading  the  procession  with  a noisy 
band  of  instruments  of  brass  and  instruments  of 
percussion.  These  are  not  favorable  to  placidity  of 
philosophical  discussion.  However,  the  faithful  part 
of  the  audience  did  not  diminish,  but  they  rather 
increased;  there  was  always  on  the  platform,  as  a 
sort  of  body-guard,  some  of  the  most  distinguished 
of  the  educated  Hindus  and  native  and  foreign  Chris- 
tians ; and  in  the  body  of  the  house  several  hundred 
of  attentive,  if  not  highly  intelligent,  listeners.  The 
fact  of  chief  importance,  however,  was  this:  it  was 
Religion  which  was  being  discussed ; and  with  the 
majority  of  those  present,  religion  was  the  subject 


The  Capital  City 


143 


of  chief  intellectual  and  practical  interest.  When, 
toward  the  close  of  the  course  a special  meeting  was 
arranged  for  the  purpose,  the  questions  proposed 
were  pertinent  and  well-expressed.  They  comprised 
such  topics  as  “The  Arguments  for  the  Being  of 
God,”  “The  Eternity  of  God  and  His  Relations  to 
Space  and  Time,”  “The  Reconciliation  of  the  Divine 
Omnipotence  with  Man’s  Individuality,”  and  other 
themes  of  a lofty  speculative  character,  such  as 
would  scarcely  be  brought  forward  by  college  stu- 
dents in  this  country. 

After  the  last  lecture  of  the  course,  a Dr.  Sarkar, 
who  was  the  only  native  then  living  that  had  re- 
ceived the  degree  of  LL.D.  from  Calcutta  University, 
and  who  had  a great  reputation  as  a writer  on  “sci- 
ence,” and  a Justice  Banurji,  who  was  much  ad- 
mired as  a high-caste  orthodox  Hindu,  because  he 
himself  reported  that,  while  his  mother  lived,  he 
daily  drank  the  water  in  which  she  washed  her  feet, 
both  made  congratulatory  remarks.  Then  a printed 
testimonial  was  read  and  presented  by  a Philosophi- 
cal Club  in  the  Assembly’s  College,  and  another  by  a 
representative  of  the  Presidency  College;  there  was  a 
“response”  and  an  exchange  of  handshaking  and 
farewells ; and  this  part  of  the  work  of  the  winter 
in  India  was  at  an  end. 

It  was,  however,  the  information  which  was  re- 
ceived rather  than  that  which  was  given  anent  the  in- 
terests of  education  and  religion  in  Calcutta  and 


144  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

among  the  Bengalis  generally,  that  was  most  worthy 
of  mention  and  of  permanent  account.  Almost  every 
waking  hour  of  the  weeks  spent  in  the  city,  when  I 
was  not  myself  engaged  in  speaking,  was  occupied 
under  the  escort  and  guidance  of  Mr.  Kali  Banurji, 
in  getting  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  educa- 
tional, social,  and  religious  affairs  of  the  natives  of 
this  capital  of  India.  The  impressions  and  infer- 
ences from  impressions,  instead  of  being  strung  in 
their  exact  order  on  the  thread  of  time,  will  best  be 
told  by  grouping  them  under  several  heads. 

The  first  in  the  series  of  visits  to  the  great  num- 
ber of  educational  institutions  of  various  types  which 
have  been  founded  in  Calcutta  was  to  the  Government 
College.  Here  we  were  met  by  the  Principal  and 
some  of  the  professors  and  shown  over  the  buildings. 
In  this  college  the  only  person  doing  any  work  of 
research,  or  seeming  to  be  interested  in  such  work, 
was  the  young  native  professor  of  physics  (he  has 
since  lectured  on  his  discoveries  in  England  and  in 
this  country)  who  was  investigating  the  changes  in 
the  atomic  structure  of  plant  life  caused  by  the 
agitation  given  them  by  the  ether-waves.  From  here 
we  drove  to  the  City  College,  an  institution  founded 
in  the  interests  of  the  Brahmo-Somaj.  This  four- 
storied building  was  extremely  disorderly  and  dirty, 
and  the  attire  of  its  indwellers,  including  the  Princi- 
pal, inclined  strongly  toward  the  disreputable.  But 
it  swarmed  with  alert  and  eager  students  to  the  num- 


The  Capital  City 


145 


ber  of  1,200  in  all.  The  Sanskrit  College  next  en- 
listed deserved  attention.  This  institution  was 
founded  for  high-caste  Hindus  exclusively.  In  its 
appointments,  teachers  and  pupils,  it  was  much  more 
respectable  in  appearance  than  was  the  City  College ; 
but  it  is  doubtful  whether  so  much  work  of  actual 
instruction  and  practical  influence  is  being  done 
there.  Its  collection  of  Sanskrit  manuscripts  is 
particularly  large  and  valuable.  As  an  unexampled 
honor  and  privilege,  I was  allowed  to  take  into  my 
unpurified  hands  two  of  the  oldest  ones, — written 
on  palm-leaves,  worm-eaten  and  fallen  into  decay, 
so  that  the  merest  touch  of  them  was  rather  pre- 
carious. One  of  the  two  manuscripts  was  said  to  be 
TOO  years  old ; the  other  had  belonged  to  the  king 
of  Ceylon  and  dated  back  800  years. 

During  another  morning,  three  other  colleges 
were  exhibited  and  explained  to  us.  Of  these  the 
first  was  the  college  for  women  on  Cornwallis 
Square.  This  institution  was  then  under  the  prin- 
cipalship  of  a Hindu  lady,  Miss  Gose,  a convert  to 
Christianity  and  an  M.A.  of  Calcutta  University. 
The  girls  in  the  college  classes  are  from  either  Chris- 
tian or  Brahmo-Somaj  families,  and  many  of  them 
were  pretty  and  intelligent  young  women.  In  con- 
trast with  this,  the  pupils  of  the  Hindu  College  for 
girls,  where  little  or  no  English  is  taught,  were  not 
only  considerably  younger, — since  before  they  can 
get  much  education  they  are  taken  out  of  school  to 


146  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  m India 

be  married, — but  also  seemed  decidedly  inferior  in 
physiognomy  and  bearing.  The  Government  sup- 
plements the  fees  of  this  college,  having  “taken  over” 
the  institution,  and  the  position  of  the  Lady-Prin- 
cipal is  well  paid,  since  she  has  house  and  servants 
furnished,  and  a salary  of  three  hundred  rupees  per 
month,  with  prospect  of  an  increase  up  to  seven  hun- 
dred. Some  thirty  or  forty  girls  are  boarders  and 
are  lodged  in  two  large  dormitory  rooms.  They 
have  native  food;  but,  like  Christians,  eat  on  tables 
and  sleep  on  beds. 

From  these  schools  for  girls  we  were  driven  to 
the  Free  Church  College,  where  Dr.  Hector  met  us 
and  conducted  us  over  the  buildings,  answering  free- 
ly all  our  more  pressing  inquiries.  It  is  impossible 
to  enforce  with  the  Bengalis  of  the  student  class,  in 
general  and  as  long  as  they  remain  Hindus,  any  such 
discipline  as  distinguishes  even  our  “looser”  exam- 
ples of  the  American  college.  As  we  passed  through 
the  rooms  where  the  students  lodged  and  were  sup- 
posed to  do  their  studying,  many  of  them  were  ly- 
ing on  their  beds,  either  with  a neglected  book  be- 
fore them  or  even  fast  asleep. 

The  next  round  of  visitation  took  in  the  three 
principal  native  private  colleges.  The  first  of  these, 
Central  College,  was  founded  by  a graduate  of  the 
Free  Church  College,  Mr.  K.  R.  Bose,  who  greeted 
both  his  visitors  with  great  cordiality  and  show  of 
respect, — he  having  learned  his  philosophy  of  Mr. 


The  Capital  City 


147 


Banurji.  The  entire  support  of  this  college  comes 
from  the  fees  of  the  pupils ; but  since  the  college  is 
small,  and  the  connected  school  of  lower  grades  is 
relatively  large, — as  is  the  case  of  many  of  our 
Western  institutions — the  former  draws  its  support 
in  part  from  the  surplus  funds  of  the  latter.  From 
here  we  went  to  “Ripon  College,”  which  is  so  named 
because  the  school  of  lower  grade  developed  into 
the  college  under  the  administration  of  Lord  Ripon. 
This  was,  on  the  whole,  the  most  remarkable  educa- 
tional institution  I had  ever  visited.  It  is  domi- 
ciled in  a large,  and  what  was  formerly  a very  ele- 
gant house,  built  around  a court ; and  in  other  low 
buildings  occupying  part  of  the  compound  back  of 
the  house.  The  corridors  swarmed  with  students 
who  had  to  be  literally  pushed  out  of  the  way  in  order 
that  we  might  reach  the  den  used  as  an  office  of  ad- 
ministration, where  the  Principal  was  seated.  He 
is  said  to  be  very  popular  and  his  pupils  much  de- 
voted to  him.  As  we  were  conducted  about  and  in- 
troduced to  teachers  and  students  in  room  after 
room,  the  crowd  of  the  “unemployed”  followed  us, 
gazing  with  the  same  open-eyed  curiosity,  and  dis- 
playing the  same  stupid  slowness  about  getting  out 
of  the  way,  which  both  men  and  bullocks  manifested 
on  the  streets  of  the  city.  The  corridors  and  reci- 
tation rooms  themselves  were  all  incredibly  dirty ; 
and  some  of  them  were  so  dark,  damp,  and  obviously 
unsanitary  that  they  would  not  pass  inspection  as 


148  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

cells  in  the  common  jail  of  any  well-ordered  Ameri- 
can city.  Including  its  Law-school,  this  institu- 
tion numbers  more  than  1,600  students. 

In  the  third  and  last  place,  we  stopped  at  the 
Metropolitan  College,  where  accommodations  were 
rather  better,  at  least  as  they  appeared  on  the  sur- 
face, than  at  the  other  native  private  schools. 

The  fees  paid  by  the  students  at  these  so-called 
colleges  range  from  two  to  five  rupees  (67  cents  to 
$1.67)  per  month,  the  larger  sum  being  charged 
by  the  missionary  colleges.  Of  libraries  and  labora- 
tories there  were  at  that  time  practically  none  worth 
mentioning  in  the  educational  institutions  of  Cal- 
cutta, with  the  exception  of  the  chemical  and  phys- 
ical laboratories  of  the  Government  College.  As 
specimens  of  the  character  and  ambitions  of  a large 
multitude  of  those  who  come  to  attend  these  institu- 
tions, this  selection,  from  a number  recorded  in  my 
diary  and  in  my  memory  may  suffice.  The  son  of  the 
most  distinguished  of  the  native  judges  was  study- 
ing for  the  B.A.  degree  in  one  of  the  missionary 
colleges  affiliated  with  the  Calcutta  University.  He 
had  chosen  Latin  instead  of  Sanskrit  for  his  second 
language,  as  much  the  easier  and  more  convenient 
(sic)  of  the  two.  His  so-called  study  of  any  for- 
eign language  was  confined  to  committing  to  mem- 
ory from  a “crib”  the  translation  of  the  passages 
assigned  for  the  daily  task.  He  complained  to  his 
father  that  his  teacher  was  trying  to  compel  him 
really  to  learn  English,  whereas  all  he  wanted  was 


149 


The  Capital  City 

to  pass  the  examinations.  This,  since  language 
counts  60  per  cent  for  a pass-examination,  and  25 
per  cent  of  correct  answers  is  enough  for  a pass, 
is  no  serious  task  for  the  average  boy  to  accomplish 
by  mere  dead-lift  of  memory  without  any  substantial 
knowledge  of  the  subject.  But  the  rewards  of  the 
“pass”  are  in  themselves  substantial.  For  as  be- 
tween Calcutta  papas  when  negotiating  marriages, 
there  is  a definite  scale  of  values  affixed  to  the  Uni- 
versity degrees : e.  g.,  a B.A.  pass  is  worth  R.  750 ; 
a B.A.  honor,  R 1,000  ; an  M.A.  counts  for  R.  1,500  ; 
and  a B.L.  has  a value  of  R.  2,000-2,500.  Even  a 
B.A.  failure  to  pass  has  a certain  commercial  value. 
But  here,  as  elsewhere,  the  matrimonial  market  fluc- 
tuates in  accordance  with  the  law  of  supply  and 
demand. 

What  is  the  product,  and  what  are  the  effects  in 
society  and  in  state  and  church,  of  such  a system  of 
education  as  applied  to  the  Bengalis?  There  can  be 
little  doubt  that  in  many  respects  it  is  highly  un- 
satisfactory. 

In  a conversation  with  the  Viceroy,  then  Lord 
Curzon,  I raised  this  question,  although  in  rather 
an  indirect  and  covert  fashion ; but  it  led  to  the 
complaint  which  was  also  voiced  by  Lady  Curzon, 
that  one  of  the  most  perplexing  problems  of  Govern- 
ment was  how  to  deal  with  the  rapidly  accumulating 
surplus  of  native  babus.  The  conversation  must 
have  left  some  impression,  for  I received  next  day 
from  the  Viceroy’s  secretary — “written  at  his  Ex- 


150  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

cellency’s  command” — a letter  of  introduction  to  Mr. 
Pedlar,  then  Director  of  Education.  In  this  letter 
it  was  mentioned  that  I was  particularly  interested 
in  a better  technical  education  for  the  natives.  On 
visiting  Mr.  Pedlar  I found  him  needing  no  argu- 
ment to  enforce  the  conviction  that  the  current  sys- 
tem of  university  education  in  India  was  unfitting 
most  of  the  candidates  for  degrees,  for  the  life 
they  must  lead  after  leaving  the  university.  They 
“will  not  work,”  said  he;  “they  will  not  put  their 
brains  into  their  hands  or  their  hands  to  any  work 
more  distinctly  manual  than  handling  a pen  or  the 
papers  in  some  government  office.”  Mr.  Pedlar  de- 
clared that  the  educated  government  clerk  would  not 
even  carry  up-stairs  from  the  street  cars  in  front 
of  the  government  offices  a chronometer  or  other 
small  package  for  which  he  had  been  sent.  The  edu- 
cated babu  believes  himself  to  have  a right  to  de- 
mand employment  in  some  “gentlemanly”  pursuit; 
and  all  his  poor  relations  believe  that  he  is  bound 
to  share  with  them,  so  that  they  may  work  less  or 
need  not  work  at  all,  the  fruits  of  these  labors  (?). 
(The  day  before,  my  wife  had  discovered  our  trav- 
eling native  companion  making  the  bed  by  the  way 
of  sitting  in  an  arm-chair  by  the  bedside  and  gently 
and  leisurely  patting  the  sheets.) 

The  attitude  of  the  same  class  of  minds  toward  re- 
ligion in  general,  and  toward  Christianity  in  particu- 
lar, is  illustrated  in  the  following  letter — one  of  a 
considerable  collection — whtch  was  written  by  a Cal- 


The  Capital  City  151 

cutta  baba  to  one  of  the  missionaries  situated  some 
hundreds  of  miles  from  that  city.  I copy  it  as  it  was 
written. 

“Venerable  Father, 

“A  Sudra  by  birth  I have  suffered  much  from  the 
Selfish  principals  of  the  Brahmins.  This  & a knowl- 
edge of  the  Sins  of  Idolatry  have  led  my  mind  to  the 
immediate  resignation  of  Hinduism. 

“Then  what  religion  to  accept?  I prefer  Chris- 
tianity to  all  those  that  ever  exist  under  the  Sun. 

“But  to  tell  the  truth  Father,  the  Sorrowful  tears 
of  my  parents,  to  whom  I am  the  only  prop  and  who 
are  greatly  entangled  by  the  Satan  of  debt,  put  an 
obstacle  to  my  being  a convert.  I,  a student,  instead 
of  helping  them  in  their  difficulties,  Shamelessly  ask 
help  from  them  for  the  continuation  of  my  Studies. 
In  this  way  getting  more  and  more  indebted,  they 
are  to  lose  what  they  have  and  on  which  the  Sup- 
port of  our  family  Solely  depends. 

“Then  Kind  Father,  if  you  receive  me  as  your 
own  son,  and  give  me  the  best  education  you  can 
afford  for  the  improvement  of  my  deplorable  condi- 
tion, I unscrupulously  accept  Christianity  and  de- 
vote my  life  to  its  Holiness.  Hoping  you  will  not 
do  otherwise  than  return  a favorable  reply  soon. 

“I  remain 

Kind  Father 
your  unfortunate  Son, 

Kailas  Chander  Sarkar.” 


152  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

Let  it  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  this  descrip- 
tion applies  to  all  the  educated  natives  among  the 
Bengalis  or  throughout  all  India.  There,  in  Cal- 
cutta, were  several  score  of  highly  educated  men 
who  had  not  “unscrupulously”  accepted  Christian- 
ity, but  who,  remaining  Brahmans,  were  taking  a 
part  worthy  of  educated  men  in  the  civil  and  social 
work  and  improvement  of  the  community.  There 
were  more  who,  like  Mr.  Kali  Banurji,  had  been 
really  “converted”  in  heart  and  life  to  the  religion 
of  Christ,  and  who  were  doing  valiant  and  self-de- 
nying and  effective  service  in  its  behalf ; and  still 
more,  of  the  humbler  sort  who  were  living  as  best 
they  knew  how  in  the  performance  of  unnoticed  daily 
duties,  “for  his  name’s  sake.”  And,  then,  there  were 
the  professed  social  and  religious  reformers — some 
wholly  sincere  and  well  enlightened,  and  some  not  so 
sincere  and  more  ignorant  or  self-deluded — who  were 
stirring  up  themselves  and  one  another,  and  trying 
to  stir  up  the  community,  in  behalf  of  a large  im- 
provement of  social  morals  and  religious  beliefs  and 
practices.  Through  their  extraordinary  courtesy 
toward  me,  and  their  implicit  confidence  in  my  friend- 
ly escort,  very  special  opportunities  were  afforded 
for  an  acquaintance  with  the  Brahmo-Somaj  and 
similar  or  rival  organizations. 

The  visit  to  the  home  of  the  Brahmo-Somaj  peo- 
ple, which  occupied  the  forenoon  of  January  16, 
1900,  is  worthy  of  a somewhat  detailed  account. 


153 


The  Capital  City 

We  called  first  upon  Protab  Chunder  Mazumdar,  the 
successor — so  far  as  any  one  could  be  said  to  have 
been  at  that  time  recognized  as  such — of  Keshub 
Chunder  Sen,  and  found  him  apparently  expecting 
us,  seated  at  his  table  in  the  room  which  he  uses 
as  a study.  Mazumdar  is  a rather  striking  man, 
with  iron-grey  hair  and  pleasing  features.  There 
is,  however,  a marked  sensuousness  about  his  coun- 
tenance ; and  his  critics  accuses  him,  not  without 
grounds,  of  too  much  high-flown  rhetoric  and  am- 
biguity of  language,  with  at  least  occasional  acts 
of  duplicity.  He  showed  in  our  brief  conversation  a 
quite  too  exalted  estimate  of  the  contributions  of 
Hinduism  to  the  purest  and  highest  form  of  re- 
ligion, and  of  the  superiority  in  religious  and  philo- 
sophical thought  of  the  Oriental  mind.  Mozumdar 
seemed  very  earnest  in  his  invitation  to  attend  his 
annual  sermon  which  was  to  be  preached  in  the  Town 
Hall  next  Saturday  afternoon  on  the  subject,  “The 
Contributions  of  the  Orient  to  the  West.’5,  He  evi- 
dently wished  me  to  appear  upon  the  platform. 

We  then  walked  the  few  steps  necessary  to  bring 
us  to  “Lily  Cottage,”  the  home  of  the  great  reformer 
Keshub  Chunder  Sen,  where  we  met  his  son,  grand- 
son, and  a number  of  the  missionaries  of  the  Brahmo- 
Somaj.  Mr.  Sen  took  us  first  to  see  the  marble 
monuments  in  an  enclosure  which  is  protected  from 
the  birds  by  a wire  cage,  and  where  are  the  ashes 
of  his  father  and  his  mother.  Keshub  Chunder  Sen’s 


154*  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

monument  has  the  same  inscription  on  all  four  sides, 
but  repeated  in  Sanskrit,  Persian,  Bengali  and  Eng- 
lish. It  is  his  own  celebrated  sentence  about  the 
flight  of  the  little  “bird  I,” — the  soul. 

Near  by,  but  in  a separate  enclosure,  are  the  mon- 
uments of  young  Mr.  Sen’s  wife  and  infant  son. 
After  this,  we  visited  the  chapel  where,  facing  the 
outside  door  of  the  entrance,  is  the  somewhat  raised 
platform  on  which  as  his  pulpit  Keshub  Chunder  Sen 
used  to  sit  and  preach.  Since  his  death  this  seat 
of  the  teacher’s  authority  has  never  been  occupied; 
and  the  question  whether  it  shall  be  left  vacant  or 
not,  in  perpetuo,  has  been  the  occasion  of  a split  in 
the  Brahmo-Somaj.  Just  “at  his  feet,”  in  front  and 
at  the  sides,  sat  the  apostles  or  more  devoted  pupils 
and  missionaries  of  his  doctrine.  Each  of  them 
had  his  special  mat  which  he  brought  and  took  away 
with  him.  Two  of  the  missionaries  showed  me  theirs, 
— one  a goatskin,  the  other  a woolen  rug  which,  he 
said,  was  the  gift  of  “the  master”  himself.  At  the 
present  time,  since  it  was  a festival  occasion,  all 
the  space  immediately  surrounding  the  platform  was 
decorated  with  flowers,— not  at  all,  however,  as  we 
should  decorate,  but  by  laying  the  blossoms  upon 
the  floor  in  symbolical,  geometrical  and  other  pat- 
terns. The  remoter  parts  of  the  room,  which  was  in 
all  perhaps  24?  ft.  square,  were  for  the  occupancy  of 
the  less  distinguished  members  of  the  church. 

The  instruments  on  which  the  musical  part  of  the 


The  Capital  City 


155 


Brahmo-Somaj’s  religious  service  was  performed 
were — at  least  so  far  as  they  were  shown  to  me — a 
large  drum  shaped  like  an  hour-glass,  and  several 
pairs  of  cymbals.  In  their  processions,  their  music 
was  animated  and  stirring  (as  I had  occasion  to 
know  by  the  disturbance  of  my  lectures), — “So  and 
So,”  as  my  informant  illustrated  by  beating  the 
drum  with  his  hands.  But  in  their  meetings  by  them- 
selves, where  the  elect  came  together  for  meditation 
and  prayer,  the  music  is  low  and  soft.  The  bible 
of  the  Brahmo-Somaj  was  then  shown  to  me.  It 
contains  selections  from  various  religious  books,  in- 
cluding, of  course,  the  Old  and  New  Testaments. 
The  principle  of  selection  seems  to  have  been  what- 
ever struck  the  fancy  of  the  person  who  made  the 
selection.  Keshub  Chunder  Sen  used  to  discourse  at 
considerable  length  in  these  meetings,  although  the 
meetings  themselves  were  appointed  especially  for 
meditation  and  prayer. 

We  were  taken  from  the  Chapel  back  into  the 
house ; and  first  into  the  drawing-room,  on  the  walls 
of  which  hung  two  portraits  in  oil  of  the  departed 
master,  and  a photograph  of  Queen  Victoria  pre- 
sented to  him  with  an  autograph  copy  of  her  Maj- 
esty’s book,  “Leaves  from  My  Journal.” 

Almost  immediately  the  screen  in  front  of  the 
adjoining  bedroom  was  folded  aside  by  young  Mr. 
Sen,  who  had  slipped  off  his  shoes  reverently  before 
approaching  any  spot  sacred  to  the  memory  of  his 


156  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

Father,  and  we  were  beckoned  to  see  where  “he 
breathed  his  last.”  The  bedroom  was  small,  but 
furnished  with  two  single  beds  set  close  side  by  side, 
in  the  one  of  which  nearest  the  door  Keshub  Chunder 
Sen  had  died.  A white  sheet  was  spread  over  the 
bed  and  over  a long  bolster  lying  lengthwise  in  the 
middle,  which  gave  the  appearance  of  a dead  body 
just  about  to  be  prepared  for  burial.  The  son 
explained  that  his  father’s  room  had  been  left  just 
as  it  was  when  he  died,  “except  so  far  as  necessary 
for  tidiness.”  A little  piece  of  carpentry  which  he 
had  made  in  his  last  illness  was  shown ; and  also  the 
family  heirloom  in  the  shape  of  a brass  flagon  with  a 
long  spout,  out  of  which  the  sick  man  had  drunk 
when  he  was  too  ill  to  raise  himself  in  bed. 

On  returning  to  the  drawing-room  I was  intro- 
duced to  Keshub  Chunder  Sen’s  mother,  an  aged 
lady  of  more  than  eighty,  who  through  her  grandson 
thanked  me  for  the  honor  done  her  in  calling,  al- 
though she  knew  it  was  rather  due  to  the  excellence 
of  her  departed  son.  With  the  most  perfect  sim- 
plicity, sincerity  and  earnestness,  the  dear  old  lady 
assured  me  that  now,  and  for  many  years  in  the 
past,  her  only  consolation  had  been  the  religious 
faith  to  which  her  son  had  devoted  his  life.  When  I 
bade  her  good-bye,  she  graciously  bestowed  upon 
me  her  maternal  blessing. 

As  we  went  through  the  front  yard  to  reach  our 
garry,  we  were  shown  the  tank  which  gave  the 


157 


The  Capital  City 

name  of  “Lily  Cottage”  to  the  house;  in  which 
Iveshub  Chunder  Sen  was  himself  baptized  by  one 
of  the  brethren ; and  in  which  all  the  members  admit- 
ted to  this  branch  of  the  Bralnno-Somaj  are  now 
baptized, — in  “name  of  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost.”  Mr.  Banurji  said  that,  although  the 
reformer  was  in  the  beginning  of  his  career  often- 
times bitter  toward  Christianity,  he  came  finally  not 
only  to  have  a sincere  reverence  for  Christ,  but  also 
to  regard  him  as  in  a special  and  unique  sense  the 
revealer  of  the  true  religion  and  the  son  of  God. 
The  general  moral  and  religious  atmosphere  of  this 
branch  of  the  Somaj,  he  thought  to  be  very  excel- 
lent. They  employ  in  all  some  sixteen  or  eighteen 
missionaries,  but  there  is  little  growth  to  their 
avowed  membership.  The  latest  available  statistics 
gave  the  total  numbers  of  the  Somaj  adherents  in 
all  India  at  somewhat  more  than  six  thousand.  But, 
as  one  of  the  missionaries  of  the  order  asserted,  they 
did  not  rely  on  or  greatly  value  statistics,  but  wished 
to  elevate  the  people  by  diffusing  true  ideas  and  a 
devout  spirit. 

There  was  much  in  all  I saw  and  learned  of  the 
Brahmo-Somaj  which,  in  other  centuries,  would  un- 
doubtedly have  served  as  the  beginning  for  the  wor- 
ship of  another  deified  man, — the  initiation  of  a new 
god.  But  Mr.  Banurji,  who  admitted  that  there  had 
been  at  one  time  danger  of  deifying  Keshub  Chunder 
Sen,  thought  this  danger  to  be  now  successfully 


158  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

passed.  It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  in 
the  case  of  all  the  branches  of  the  Somaj  movement, 
as  among  the  Orientals  generally,  the  attitude  of 
heart  and  life  toward  the  founders  and  leaders  of 
religious  sects,  and  toward  the  revered  dead  of  the 
family,  much  more  nearly  resembles  the  worship  fitly 
bestowed  on  the  Divine  Being  than  is  the  case  with 
us  Westerners. 

From  Lily  Cottage  we  were  driven  to  the  house 
of  Mr.  Bose,  who  was  then  the  intellectual  and  social 
leader  of  the  other  branch  of  the  Brahmo-Somaj. 
Mr.  Bose,  who  was  educated  in  England,  is  a very 
cultivated  gentleman  and  successful  barrister,  and 
the  favorite  with  the  student  classes.  One  sees  in 
him  at  once  the  keenly  intellectual  and  polished  man 
of  the  world ; on  the  other  hand  the  devout  and  rev- 
erent atmosphere  of  Lily  Cottage  is  here  wanting, 
or  at  least  not  so  obvious. 

On  the  way  home  we  stopped  at  the  missionary 
house  of  the  Brahmo-Somaj.  It  was  a dark  and 
dirty  and  rather  dilapidated  structure  in  an  obscure 
lane.  But  the  brethren  were  very  cordial,  and  I sat 
and  talked  with  them  so  long,  and  waited  so  in  ac- 
quiescence to  their  demand  that  I should  not  depart 
until  I had  “sweetened  my  mouth”  in  their  house, 
that  I was  very  late  to  luncheon. 

More  private  interviews  with  individual  visitors 
of  the  various  branches  of  the  reformed  sects  served 
to  deepen  and  correct  the  impressions  with  which 
I had  begun  my  travels  in  India.  One  morning  a 


The  Capital  City 


159 


missionary  of  the  more  orthodox  branch  of  the  Brah- 
mo-Somaj,  who  had  more  of  a reputation  among  his 
brethren  for  his  piety  than  for  his  learning  or  in- 
tellectual vigor,  called  to  inquire  about  the  possi- 
bility of  his  coming  to  the  United  States  to  study  re- 
ligion further.  This  brother  seemed  to  have  no  ob- 
jection to  the  views  or  the  theological  dogma  of  the 
“Philosophical”  Christian  Trinitarians. 

Another  morning,  just  as  we  were  sitting  down  to 
breakfast,  two  natives  called  and  announced  them- 
selves as  emissaries  of  the  Chaitanya  Somaj.  They 
talked  so  rapidly  and  in  such  broken  and  poor  Eng- 
lish, and  interrupted  each  other  so  frequently,  that 
I had  great  difficulty  in  gathering  what  they  really 
wished.  By  point-blank  questioning,  however,  it  was 
discovered  that  they  wanted  to  arrange  a meeting 
for  me  with  the  leader  of  the  sect  and  editor  of  its 
paper,  “Patrika.”  They  left  in  my  hands  a circular 
advertising  two  volumes  by  Shishir  Kumar  Ghose,  on 
“Lord  Gauranga,  or  Salvation  for  All.”  In  this  cir- 
cular, Ghose’s  book,  together  with  other  worthless 
stuff  from  Madame  Blavatsky  and  others  of  her 
ilk,  was  especially  commended  by  “Professor  Bu- 
chanan of  America,  the  Discoverer  of  Psychometry.” 
I had  previously  supposed  that  Fechner  and  Weber 
had  something  to  do  with  this  discovery.  But  the 
secrets  of  “soul-measurement”  as  known  to  those 
initiated  in  the  Indian  theosophy  are  not  for  plain 
and  ordinary  Western  minds. 

In  this  connection  it  is  pertinent  to  mention  the 


160  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

opinion  of  Mr.  Kali  Banurji — than  whom,  as  has 
already  been  indicated,  no  one  could  be  more  com- 
petent to  judge — that  on  the  whole  the  influence 
of  the  so-called  “Parliament  of  Religions”  held  in 
this  country  had  been  bad  in  India.  In  one  case, 
the  leader  of  a vile  sect  which  continues  phallic 
worship  and  the  lewdest  practices  connected  with 
it,  had  returned  to  strut  about  and  brag  of  his  seat 
in  the  Parliament  as  on  a par  with  those  of  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Brahmo-Somaj  and  of  Christianity. 

Before  setting  out  on  our  trip  around  the  world 
we  had  received  a very  cordial  introduction  to  Lady 
Curzon  from  her  father,  Mr.  Leiter,  of  Chicago. 
This  kindness  procured  us  several  invitations  to  Gov- 
ernment House,  the  most  prized  of  which  was  an 
imitation  to  luncheon  where  we  were  the  only  guests 
besides  the  members  of  the  family.  When  Lord  and 
Lady  Curzon  appeared  in  the  waiting-room,  where 
we  had  been  conversing  with  one  of  his  aide-de-camps, 
the  Viceroy  immediately  said : “Let  us  go  out  to 

luncheon,”  and  himself  led  the  way.  Before  reach- 
ing the  table,  however,  he  fell  back  to  speak  with 
Mrs.  Ladd,  who  was  then  seated  on  his  right;  while 
Lady  Curzon  proceeded  to  her  chair  and  invited  me 
to  a seat  on  her  right.  Her  conversation  with  me, 
after  a few  general  questions  asked  and  answered, 
concerned  the  ever-increasing  swarm  of  babus  who 
get,  or  just  fail  in  getting,  a university  degree;  and 
who  then  find  no  mission  in  life  beyond  trying  for 


161 


The  Capital  City 

some  government  office.  This  conversation,  which 
was  continued  with  the  Viceroy,  in  a small  room  par- 
titioned off  from  the  verandah,  over  the  after-dinner 
coffee,  led  to  the  result  of  which  sufficient  has  already 
been  said. 

Lord  Curzon  made  upon  me  an  excellent  impres- 
sion as  having  a fine  blend  of  accurate  information, 
good  sense,  and  principled  kindness.  It  was  also 
interesting  to  find  that  he  had  a pretty  thorough 
acquaintance  with,  and  a very  good  opinion  of,  the 
Japanese.  The  impression  made  by  the  American 
woman  he  had  married  had  already  won  for  her 
the  admiration  and  affection  of  all  classes  in  India. 

Some  time  later  we  were  invited  to  a dinner  at 
Government  House,  at  which  seventy  guests  were 
at  table,  and  which  was  followed  by  a dance  to  which 
three  times  that  number  were  invited.  The  lady  who 
was  assigned  to  my  escort  I discovered — but  only 
the  next  day — to  be  Mrs.  Cotes,  the  author  of  “A 
Social  Adventure,”  “The  Simple  Adventures  of  a 
Mem  Sahib,”  and  other  books,  under  the  novi  de 
plume  of  Sarah  Jeanette  Duncan.  But  since  all  her 
conversation  was  with  a young  officer,  who  sat  on 
her  right,  about  the  Boer  war,  this  ignorance  did  not 
matter.  On  this  occasion  also  the  Viceroy  and  Lady 
Curzon  appeared  in  the  reception-room  only  after 
all  the  guests  were  assembled.  But  at  length  one 
of  the  aide-de-camps  announced  “Their  Excellen- 
cies,” when  they  at  once  entered  and  passed  in  front 


162  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

of  the  entire  assembly  “lined  up,”  as  the  saying  is, 
extending  a hand  to  each  without  speaking, — Lady 
Curzon  some  three  or  four  steps  behind  her  hus- 
band. The  gentlemen  all  bowed;  the  ladies  court- 
sied.  They  then  led  the  way  to  the  dinner  table,  the 
Viceroy  taking  out  the  wife  of  the  Governor  of  Ben- 
gal, and  Lady  Curzon  escorted  by  Chief  Justice  Mac- 
lean.  These  details  of  etiquette  are  referred  to,  not 
for  their  intrinsic  importance  in  the  sight  of  the 
“plain  American  Citizen,”  but  because  they  are  real- 
ly of  no  small  importance  in  the  effect  they  have  upon 
the  attitude  of  the  Oriental  toward  the  individual  or 
the  nation  that  observes  or  neglects  them. 

Two  or  three  dinner-table  incidents  will  throw 
some  light  on  the  customs  and  sentiments  that  have 
much  to  do  with  the  control  of  British  India.  A 
member  of  the  French  Embassy  had  a violent  nose 
bleed  which  he  strove  in  vain  to  staunch  before  be- 
ing compelled  to  leave  the  table.  When  he  was  finally 
forced  to  withdraw,  he  left  his  bloodstained  napkin 
lying  in  the  chair.  Not  one  of  the  Mussulman  wait- 
ers in  their  long  red  robes  would  touch  it,  and  the 
slightly  disagreeable  task  was  forced  upon  one  of 
the  English  head-butlers. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  dinner,  as  the  Viceroy 
stood  and  said:  “To  the  Queen  Empress,”  all  rose 
to  their  feet  and  drank  to  Her  Majesty’s  health  by 
at  least  touching  the  glass  to  the  lips.  One  very 
abstemious  English  lady  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 


163 


The  Capital  City 

table,  who  had  refused  to  take  wine  with  any  of 
the  courses,  became  the  object  of  no  little  amuse- 
ment to  those  who  understood  the  language  of  the 
waiter,  as  he  overcame  her  resistance  to  having  the 
glass  of  port  poured  out  for  her,  only  by  saying 
repeatedly  in  Hindustani  and  in  tones  of  increasing 
anxiety:  “The  Queen  will  be  drunk;  the  Queen  will 
be  drunk.” 

At  the  ball  which  followed  in  the  state  apartment 
over  the  dining  room,  after  dancing  the  quadrille 
d’honneur  “Their  Excellencies”  took  no  further  part ; 
but  withdrew  to  the  room  just  over  the  throne-room, 
where  they  remained  and  had  summoned  to  them 
such  persons  only  as  they  wished  to  meet.  At  11 :30 
they  retired  and  thus  left  free  such  of  their  guests 
as  desired  to  come  away. 

Less  “distinguished”  but  more  enjoyable  than  the 
“function”  just  described  were  the  receptions  given 
to  us  at  the  houses  of  our  hosts,  Doctor  and  Mrs. 
Hector  and  Professor  and  Mrs.  Tomory.  At  the 
latter  gathering  which  came  near  the  end  of  our  stay 
in  Calcutta,  there  were  present  representatives  of 
all  the  classes  who  had  been  more  or  less  actively 
interested  in  the  lectures  and  various  other  addresses 
which  I had  given  in  the  city ; and  thus  there  was 
a very  desirable  opportunity  to  attempt  something 
like  a fair  estimate  of  the  results  obtained.  It  was 
especially  comforting  to  note  that  Mr.  Banurji  and 
a Mr.  Maden,  who  spoke  of  himself  as  “a  poor  cot- 


164  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

ten-spinner,”  although  he  had  been  introduced  as 
the  “Calcutta  Mr.  Tata,”  or  merchant  prince, 
seemed  in  agreement  on  this  point. 

During  the  stay  in  Calcutta  several  extraordinary 
opportunities  occurred  to  see  in  a more  intimate 
way  some  of  the  more  ridiculous  and  some  of  the 
more  cruel  and  loathsome  sides  of  orthodox  Hindu- 
ism. In  the  former  class  may  best  be  put  the  visit 
which  Mrs.  Ladd  was  permitted  to  make  with  us  to 
a family  of  Pirati  or  “polluted”  Brahmans.  The 
tradition  is  that  more  than  one  hundred  years  ago 
one  of  the  ancestors  of  this  family — whether  on  com- 
pulsion or  voluntarily,  the  tradition  is  divided — ate 
of,  or  at  least  smelled  of,  Muhammadan  roast  beef. 
Refusing  to  get  absolution  by  doing  the  required 
costly  penance,  the  entire  family  became  and  have 
since  remained  outcasted.  It  costs  them  a pretty 
penny  to  get  sons-in-law  and  daughters-in-law;  for 
any  girl  marrying  into  the  family  can  never  return 
to  her  home.  She,  too,  becomes  an  outcast.  But 
the  family  have  become  rich,  since  their  large  com- 
pound has  now  been  made  central  by  the  growth 
of  the  city  of  Calcutta,  and  is  surrounded  by  very 
profitable  bazaars.  They  have  also  multiplied  large- 
ly and  have  arrived  at  a size  to  form  a sort  of  a caste 
of  their  own,  and  to  hire  Brahmans  to  join  them  and 
perform  all  the  rites  of  Hinduism.  The  sons  of  the 
last  Maharajah — for  they  seem  to  have  a right  to 
claim  this  title — became  a Christian,  and  his  father 


165 


The  Capital  City 

disinherited  him.  The  present  head  of  the  family 
is  an  old  gentleman  who  was  a nephew  and  who  be- 
came the  heir  to  the  estate  and  the  title  by  a will 
which  was  disputed  but  upheld  by  the  native  court  in 
India.  The  case  was  appealed  to  a judicial  commit- 
tee of  the  Privy  Council,  who  decided  that  upon 
the  present  incumbent’s  death  the  estate  must  revert 
to  the  lineal  descendants. 

The  house  in  which  the  outcast,  Sir  Maharajah 
Jotindra  Mhun  Tagore,  lives  is  one  of  the  most  mag- 
nificent of  the  native  houses  in  Calcutta.  As  usual 
with  such  houses,  however,  its  surroundings  were 
filthy  and  squalid.  We  were  met  near  the  entrance 
by  two  handsome  and  well-dressed  young  Hindus 
and  shown  up  into  a drawing-room  which,  for  size 
and  magnificence  of  some  of  its  furnishings,  was 
truly  royal.  But  there  was  here  the  same  mixture  of 
meanness  and  magnificence  which  had  characterized 
the  surroundings.  The  Maharajah  was  at  his  break- 
fast; and  while  we  were  waiting  for  him,  the  young 
men  entertained  us  by  setting  a-going  a large  Swiss 
music-box.  When  the  old  gentleman  appeared,  ar- 
rayed in  an  elegant  Cashmire  shawl  for  his  morning 
dress,  we  found  him  very  cordial,  bright,  and  enter- 
taining. 

Did  the  most  intelligent  of  the  orthodox  Hindus 
really  approve  of  such  ridiculous  ways  of  distin- 
guishing truth  from  error  and  dividing  up  the 
family  of  God  into  innumerable  castes  and  outcasts? 


166  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

This  was  the  question  raised  by  our  visit  to  the  Ma- 
harajah Tagore.  Our  next  call  provided  the  ques- 
tion with  a practical  answer.  For  it  was  upon  one 
of  the  most  highly  educated,  liberal  and  kindly  of 
the  strictly  orthodox  Hindus.  While  my  wife  and 
her  female  attendant  were  visiting  the  zenana,  the 
doctor  talked  with  me  of  his  practice,  of  the  af- 
fliction he  had  recently  met  in  the  loss  of  his  wife 
and  a favorite  son,  and  of  his  hope  of  a reunion  with 
his  loved  ones  in  heaven,  with  all  the  sincerity  of 
faith  and  devoutness  of  feeling  which  could  possibly 
characterize  a “good  Christian.”  Yet  when  he 
learned  from  whose  house  we  had  come  to  his,  he  de- 
clared that  nothing  could  induce  him  to  allow  a mem- 
ber of  his  family  to  cross  a threshold  so  accursed. 
In  what  essential  respects,  however,  do  these  atti- 
tudes of  Hinduism  differ  from  those  prevalent  in 
so-called  Christian  circles  during  the  centuries  of 
their  history? 

Of  the  cynical  side  of  some  Hindus  a very  vivid 
impression  was  gained  when  we  responded  to  the  for- 
mal invitation  to  visit  in  his  office  the  editor  of  the 
Patrika  and  the  author  of  the  two-volumed  work  on 
“Lord  Gauranga  or  Salvation  for  All.”  Mounting 
wuth  some  difficulty  a dirty,  dark  and  winding  stair- 
case, we  found  in  his  diminutive  den  an  emaciated 
man  w7ith  a mixture  of  conceit,  fanaticism,  and  craft 
in  his  bearing;  and  yet  with  a certain  pathetic  ear- 
nestness. Mr.  Ghose  began  at  once  to  complain  of 


The  Capital  City 


167 


the  powerlessness  of  all  religion,  especially  Chris- 
tianity, to  accomplish  anything  in  the  way  of  a prac- 
tical and  ethical  communion  of  man  with  God.  The 
philosophical  views  which  he  alone  understood  thor- 
oughly and  had  expounded  in  his  two-volumed  trea- 
tise would  be  found  the  only  means  effective  in  pro- 
ducing this  highly  desirable  result. 

But  it  was  a visit  to  the  Kali  Ghat  which  gave 
just  a glimpse  into  some  of  the  most  cruel  and  re- 
pulsive and  obscene  ceremonies  and  practices  possi- 
ble in  the  Hindu  cult.  Of  the  worship  of  this  “fero- 
cious she-monster”  a modern  writer  (Professor  Hop- 
kins) has  said:  “Obscenity  is  the  soul  of  this  cult. 

Bestiality  equalled  only  by  the  orgies  of  the  Indie 
savages  among  the  hill-tribes  is  the  form  of  this 
religion.  ...  A description  of  the  different  rites 
would  be  to  reduplicate  an  account  of  indecencies,  of 
which  the  least  vile  is  too  esoteric  to  sketch  faith- 
fully.” 

This  temple  of  the  goddess  Kali  is  seated  on  the 
old  bank  of  the  Ganges  a few  miles  from  the  city  of 
Calcutta;  the  place  derives  its  sanctity  from  the 
legend  that  when  the  corpse  of  Shiva’s  wife  was  cut 
in  pieces  by  order  of  the  gods,  one  of  her  fingers  fell 
on  this  spot.  The  approaches  to  this  temple  are 
lined  with  bazaars,  many  of  which  are  filled  with 
wares  of  different  sorts  connected  with  the  worship 
of  Kali.  On  alighting  from  the  garry  we  were  at 
once  surrounded  by  a crowd  of  dirty  beggars  crying 


168  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

out  for  backshish.  We  gave  ourselves  into  the  hands 
of  a young  priest  who  was  comparatively  neatly 
dressed,  but  who  had  in  an  exaggerated  degree  all 
the  irritating  characteristics  of  the  oily,  conceited, 
and  superficial  Bengali.  He  proved  a good  conduc- 
tor, however, — but  only  so  far  as  our  physical  lead- 
ership was  concerned ; for  he  showed  that  he  really 
knew  nothing  when  we  came  to  ask  as  to  the  origin 
and  essential  nature  of  Kali  worship. 

Just  as  we  reached  the  place  where  the  sacrifices 
were  performed,  a goat  was  being  fastened  into  the 
arrangement  for  holding  its  head  firm ; and  in  a trice 
with  a single  blow  (it  is  bad  luck  not  to  have  a single 
blow  do  this  work  neatly)  it  was  beheaded  and  its 
headless  bod}'  carried  off  kicking  vigorously.  The 
sights  and  smells  were  so  disconcerting  to  the  ladies 
of  the  party  that  they  wished  to  draw  back  without 
giving  further  opportunity  for  investigation  in  the 
interests  of  comparative  religion ; but  they  were  per- 
suaded to  keep  on  until  we  could  be  shown  around 
the  entire  outside  of  the  temple  structures.  Into  the 
temple  itself  none  but  qualified  Hindus  may  enter. 
We  were  shown  the  bathing-tank  which  is  connected 
with  the  Ganges  by  a canal,  in  the  filth-laden  waters 
of  which  perhaps  a score  of  people  were  engaged  in 
bathing.  The  young  priest  assured  us  that  these  wa- 
ters were  sacred  and  used  only  for  sacred  purposes. 
We  could  well  believe  it,  for  in  India  no  other  wa- 
ters are  so  disgustingly  and  dangerously  filthy  as 


THE  FILTH-LADEN  WATERS 


The  Capital  City 


169 


those  used  for  purposes  of  religious  purification. 
According  to  his  story,  worshippers  came  to  this 
temple  of  Kali  from  all  over  India,  bringing  offerings 
to  be  sacrificed,  of  goats  and  sheep  and  buffalo. 

As  we  came  away  the  beggars  “pitched  into”  us 
again.  One  especially  persistent  fellow  wished  us  to 
give  to  him,  above  all  others,  because  he  was  a priest 
and  a gentleman ; and  an  able-bodied,  well-nourished 
boy  ran  beside  our  vehicle  for  nearly  a mile,  crying 
out,  “Sahib,  Sahib,  backshish,  backshish.” 

The  narrative  of  our  experiences  in  Calcutta  may 
fitly  be  brought  to  a close  by  a word  or  two  regard- 
ing some  of  the  more  interesting  and  instructive  of 
the  excursions  made  from  the  city.  Of  these,  one 
consisted  of  a sail  down  the  river  to  the  Botanical 
Gardens,  where,  that  day,  no  fewer  than  four  church- 
picnics  were  being  held.  We  visited  the  celebrated 
huge  Banyan  tree,  which  was  then  129  years  old, 
and  had  a circumference  of  51  ft.  of  trunk  at  5^ 
ft.  from  the  ground ; and  of  its  crown,  a circumfer- 
ence of  930  ft.  This  tree  had  already  417  serial 
roots  actually  established  in  the  ground  beneath.  The 
process  of  inducing  new  roots  to  grow  just  where 
their  support  is  most  needed  is  interesting.  The 
tree  is  scarified  and  the  new  root  is  taken  down  to 
the  ground  inside  of  a bamboo  support  which  has 
been  filled  with  soil. 

The  Jain  temple  of  Calcutta,  with  its  surround- 
ing gardens  and  their  variegated  pavements,  with 


170  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

its  tinsel  and  glass  and  inlaid  work,  was  worth  a brief 
visit.  But  we  were  fortunate  in  having  previously 
visited  the  temple  of  the  same  sect  in  Ahmedabad 
under  intelligent  guidance;  for  the  fellow  who  showed 
us  around  and  called  himself  by  the  absurd  title,  “a 
Jain-Hindu”  (Jain,  in  order  to  hold  his  place  and 
get  his  Rupee;  and  Hindu,  in  order  to  keep  his 
caste  and  save  himself  from  social  inconvenience) 
was  totally  unqualified  for  his  business.  He  did  not 
even  know  what  the  word  Tirthankar  meant.  The 
priests  were  Hindus,  serving  for  what  they  could 
make  out  of  it ; and  the  only  person  about  the  prem- 
ises who  appeared  to  know  anything  whatever  about 
Jainism  was  a young  man  not  connected  with  the 
temple,  who,  with  his  older  companion,  turned  out  to 
be  pilgrims  from  Bombay. 

On  one  of  the  Saturdays,  with  a congenial  com- 
pany, we  had  a delightful  sail  up  the  river  as  far 
as  opposite  Barakpore.  Just  as  we  were  setting  out 
on  the  return  journey,  the  government  launch  car- 
rying the  servants,  followed  by  one  carrying  the 
Viceroy,  Lady  Curzon,  and  a party  of  friends,  met 
us  on  the  way  to  his  summer-house  for  an  over-Sun- 
day. 

After  having  such  pleasant  times  and  making  so 
many  good  friends  in  Calcutta,  it  is  not  strange 
that  when  late  in  January  we  parted  from  them  on 
the  platform  of  the  station  and  knew  we  should  have 
small  chance  of  seeing  them  again,  we  felt  a distinct 


171 


The  Capital  City 

tug  on  the  heart-strings.  Although  our  car  was 
uncommonly  good  in  its  appointments,  there  was  lit- 
tle sleep  for  me  that  night,  partly  from  the  excite- 
ment of  bidding  farewell  and  partly  from  anxiety 
over  news  threatening  the  work  in  the  homeland. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


HOLY  BENARES 


HE  City  of  Benares,  or  Kasi  (the  “Bright”  [ ?]  ) 


as  the  Hindus  commonly  call  it,  has  been  the 
religious  capital  of  India  from  far  back  of  historic 
times.  Indeed,  authentic  history  of  the  past  of  this 
ancient  and  important  center  of  Indian  religious  life 
is  very  deficient,  although  it  is  certain  that  it  was 
flourishing  six  centuries  before  the  Christian  era; 
for  it  was  then  that  Sakya  Muni,  the  founder  of  Bud- 
dhism, came  to  establish  his  religion  there.  And 
Buddha  died  at  the  age  of  eighty  about  480  B.  C. 
Even  the  site  of  the  ancient  city  is  in  some  doubt,  for 
it  was  several  times  changed ; and  the  present  city 
is  constantly  slipping  away  into  the  treacherous 
but  sacred  river  that  runs  at  the  foot  of  the  high 
bank  on  which  are  situated  many  of  the  most  gor- 
geous of  its  ancient  temples  and  palaces.  Under 
Moslem  rule  its  religious  institutions  suffered  terri- 
bly. It  is  recorded  that  one  of  the  Mogul  generals 
destroyed  a thousand  temples  and  built  mosques  in 
their  places.  But  no  political  pressure  or  military 
violence  has  availed  to  destroy  the  religious  pre- 


172 


Holy  Benares 


173 


eminence  in  the  Hindu  mind,  of  Holy  Benares.  We 
were  then  obliged  to  visit  it  on  this  account;  and 
also  because  we  had  talking  of  an  unusually  interest- 
ing character — at  least,  to  ourselves — to  do  in  the 
religious  capital  of  India. 

At  the  Benares  Cantonment  station  we  were  met 
by  our  host  and  given  a most  cordial  welcome.  Im- 
mediately after  luncheon  we  got  ready  for  a so-called 
conversazione  in  the  garden,  at  which  some  twenty 
gentlemen,  mostly  professors  in  the  Hindu  and 
Queens  Colleges,  were  present.  The  conversation 
was  general ; but  one  of  the  Hindus  took  me  aside  to* 
ask  what  I thought  Christ  meant  when  he  said,  “I 
and  my  Father  are  one.”  After  I had  explained  my 
understanding  of  the  words  he  remarked  that  the 
Vedanta  philosophy  had  much  earlier  taught  the 
same  truth.  When  questioned,  however,  as  to  his 
conception  of  the  nature  of  this  human  oneness  with 
the  Divine  Being  lie  showed  what  all  Oriental  specu- 
lation on  such  problems  of  theology  and  philosophy 
always  shows, — a very  marked  difference  from  the 
western  thought  as  to  what  can  properly  be  meant 
by  personality  and  by  personal  relations. 

A more  marked  and  almost  startling  example  of 
the  difference  to  which  reference  was  just  made,  was 
afforded  the  next  morning  by  a lengthy  conversation 
with  the  “ascetic  Raja  Bhinga,  the  man  of  whom  Dr. 
Fairbairn  published  such  a superlative  estimate  in 
the  Contemporary  Review  on  his  return  from  his 


174  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

lecturing  tour  in  India.  Raja  Bhinga  lives  in  a bun- 
galow fully  two  miles  distant  from  the  London  Mis- 
sion. And  since  our  call  was  set  for  seven  o’clock 
in  the  morning,  early  rising  and  a hurried  chota 
hazri  were  the  conditions  of  keeping  the  engagement. 
A servant  on  guard  with  an  old-fashioned  musket 
was  stationed  at  the  gateway.  Sending  in  our  cards 
we  were  immediately  asked  to  enter  and  meet  the 
owner  in  his  small  drawing-room. 

Raja  Bhinga  appeared  to  be  about  fifty  years 
of  age.  He  had  a distinctly  intellectual  face  which 
in  conversation  lighted  up  with  a pleasant  smi^e, — 
touched  with  occasional  gleams  of  sarcasm  and  ten- 
der bitterness.  The  Raja  is  an  ascetic  and  a believ- 
er in  the  higher  Hinduism ; but  his  asceticism  does 
not  assume  a repulsive  physical  form.  His  dress 
was  plain  but  free  from  any  peculiarities  designed 
to  attract  to  itself  the  attention  either  of  the  wearer 
or  of  others. 

The  views  of  either  Protestant  or  Romanist  ortho- 
doxy could  not  differ  more  from  those  of  Kuenen  and 
Wellhausen  regarding  the  Old  Testament  and  the 
clergy  than  did  those  of  Raja  Bhinga  regarding  the 
Vedas  and  the  Hindu  priesthood  from  those  which  I 
had  heard  expressed  several  months  before  by  the 
Shankara-charya  of  the  Kapola  Bania  caste  in 
Bombay.  In  respect  of  all  the  Vedic  writings  and  the 
commentaries  upon  them, — Upanishads,  Puranas, 
etc., — the  Raja  declared  himself  a thorough  skeptic 
and  rationalist.  Even  the  most  ancient  of  the  Vedas 


Holy  Benares 


175 


were,  in  his  judgment,  full  of  “admixtures”  and  con- 
tained only  occasional  truths  together  with  much 
that  was  “rubbish”  and  erroneous.  True  and  higher 
Hinduism  rejects  not  only  the  infallibility  of  the 
Scriptures  but  also  the  claims  of  the  Brahmans. 
These  priests,  though  pretending  to  teach  the  people 
with  authority  and  even  claiming  from  them  rever- 
ence and  worship,  are  blind  leaders  of  the  blind.  The 
interpretations  of  the  pundits  have  no  great  value. 
The  revival  of  the  Yoga  philosophy  now  current  is 
not  true  Yoga  philosophy,  is  gaining  few  adherents, 
and  is  of  little  or  no  valuable  influence.  The  Theoso- 
phists  are  more  numerous  hereabouts ; but  most  of 
them  do  not  know  what  they  mean  and  can  only  cap- 
tivate silly  women  and  boys  (this  was  a decided  rap 
at  Madame  Blavatsky  and  Mrs.  Besant).  The  Hindu 
Central  College  of  Benares  has  started  out  to  give 
a religious  education  to  the  sons  of  the  higher  caste 
Hindus ; but  the  Brahmans  will  have  their  own  way 
there,  and  the  pundits  will  teach  their  own  biased 
views ; and  no  real  enlightenment  will  result. 

When  questioned  as  to  his  own  religious  views 
Raja  Bhinga  spoke  frankly  and  in  delightfully  clear 
and  elegant  English.  He  avowed  his  belief  in  the 
doctrine  of  Maya  or  “The  Great  Illusion” : even  the 
teachings  and  scheme  of  the  Yedas,  and  all  the  Brah- 
manical  philosophy  and  liturgy,  as  well  as  the  world 
of  things,  belongs  to  the  sphere  of  illusion.  All  is 
Maya. 

The  world  is  full  of  evil,  so  the  ascetic  Raja  of 


176  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

Holy  Benares  went  on  to  explain.  Pain  is  the  fun- 
damental, the  universal,  the  ineradicable  experience. 
It  cannot  be  banished  or  overcome  so  long  as  one 
remnant  of  Maya  remains.  But  there  are  two  ways 
in  which  a true  Hindu  may  conduct  himself  toward 
this  pain  of  existence.  He  may  withdraw  as  much 
as  possible  from  the  world  and  give  himself  up  to 
reflection ; or  he  may  for  duty’s  sake  endure  the 
world  while  taking  no  pleasure  in  it, — may  go  about 
this  city,  while  being  a true  citizen  of  another  and 
heavenly  city.  The  way  of  self-denial  is  the  only 
Way  of  Salvation.  It  is  the  extinction  of  all  desire, 
of  all  love  of  self,  of  all  interest  in  self,  which  at 
last  brings  the  true  believer  to  Nirvana. 

But  what  is  Nirvana?  How  shall  we  describe  this 
supreme  good  which  the  righteous  man  attains,  who 
follows  the  Path  of  Salvation?  Is  it  the  extinction 
of  all  consciousness?  No,  for  then  a man  might  at- 
tain it  by  getting  very  drunk  or  falling  into  a faint- 
ing fit.  Is  it  then  the  extinction  of  self-conscious- 
ness? Certainly,  yes;  for  the  extinction  of  the  very 
root  of  self-interest  is  the  only  way  of  salvation. 
Questioned  as  to  how  a “person”  could  be  said  to  be 
saved,  that  was  no  longer  a person,  having  lost 
the  indispensable  characteristic  of  personality,  the 
Raja  claimed  that  the  English  language  did  not  af- 
ford the  words  necessary  to  make  clear  his  concep- 
tion of  Nirvana.  And  since  I could  not  argue  with 
him  about  subtle  distinctions  in  philosophical  San- 


Holy  Benares 


177 


skrit,  we  seemed  to  be  at  an  empasse  in  our  efforts 
to  agree  with  each  other. 

On  our  way  homeward  we  stopped  at  the  “monkey 
temple,”  in  the  garden  of  which  a quite  different  kind 
of  ascetic  had  practiced  for  many  years,  receiving 
visitors  and  gathering  their  autographs.  The  old 
swami,  who  acquired  the  title  of  the  “holy  man”  of 
Benares,  was  said  to  have  been  a simple-hearted,  sin- 
cere, devout,  but  ignorant  person ; but  his  succes- 
sor looked  as  though  he  had  gone  into  the  business 
of  saintship  for  what  it  might  be  worth.  The  mar- 
ble effigy  of  the  departed  saint,  near  by  the  cagelike 
enclosure  in  which  he  is  said  to  have  been  buried, 
represents  him  in  the  attitude  in  which  he  used  to 
pose  during  his  lifetime ; and  here  he  is  already  wor- 
shipped as  divine,  so  little  time  does  it  take  to  make 
a new  god  in  India. 

It  may  be  doubted  whether  a more  desperate  and 
concentrated  plunge  downward  from  the  heights  of 
religious  contemplation  and  attempt  at  pure  living 
to  the  most  loathsome  and  obscene  superstitions  that 
deceive  the  minds  and  deprave  the  morals  of  man- 
kind under  the  name  of  religion,  could  anywhere  be 
found  than  that  which  one  takes  who  passes,  not  as 
an  unthinking  listener  or  sightseer,  but  as  an  intelli- 
gent and  thoughtful  observer,  from  the  presence  of 
Raja  Bhinga  to  the  so-called  “Monkey  Temple”  of 
Benares.  For  what  the  Europeans  call  by  this  im- 
promptu title,  because  of  the  myriads  of  monkeys 


178  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

which  infest  the  large  trees  nearby,  is  more  properly 
called  the  “Durga  Temple,”  as  consecrated  to  the 
goddess  of  that  name.  But  Durga  is  the  terrific 
form  of  Shiva’s  wife ; and  Durga  is  the  concentrated 
essence,  so  to  say,  of  everything  silly,  obscene,  and 
cruel,  which  a foul  imagination  can  picture  as  be- 
longing to  the  Female  ( das  Weibliche),  when  en- 
dowed with  power,  unrestrained  either  by  fear  of 
superior  physical  force  or  by  semblance  of  moral 
considerations.  Durga  is  the  Female  Devil,  raging 
with  cruelty  and  lust,  let  loose.  Her  worship  is  a 
Bacchic  orgy,  with  unlimited  indulgence  in  “wine 
and  women.”  Human  sacrifices  were  formerly  among 
its  bloody  rites.  Today,  under  fear  of  Government, 
the  lust  for  blood  is  “appeased  by  the  hacking  of 
their  own  bodies,”  and  by  cutting  off  the  heads  of 
goats.  Their  sanguinary  tribute  to  the  terrible  wife 
of  Shiva  may  be  seen  sprinkled  about  this  Durga 
Temple,  in  whose  groves  monkeys  ceaselessly  chatter 
and  gambol.  Other  lusts  are  not  appeased  in  so  lim- 
ited a way. 

The  following  day  wTas  occupied  in  going  about  the 
holy  city.  We  drove  first  to  a point  well  up  the 
Ganges  and  there  hired  one  of  those  queer  boats 
which  ply  up  and  down  the  river.  Chairs  were 
placed  on  the  tarred  roof  of  the  dark  little  cabin ; 
and  the  four  oarsmen  started  to  row  us  down  the 
stream  in  front  of  the  bathing-  and  burning-ghats, 
and  the  medley  of  temples  and  palaces  which  line  the 
upper  part  of  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Ganges.  Num- 


Holy  Benares 


179 


bers  of  citizens  and  pilgrims  were  in  the  different 
stages  of  the  act  of  acquiring  merit  or  doing  pen- 
ance by  bathing  in  its  sacred  waters.  The  ascetics 
who  were  not  thus  engaged  were  squatting  in  the 
openings  of  their  cells  or  in  the  open  air.  Among 
the  bathers  were  fat  old  men  and  fat  old  women,  chil- 
dren of  both  sexes,  youths  and  maidens.  The  males 
seemed  quite  indifferent  to  the  various  degrees  of 
exposure  which  their  morning  exercise  involved ; but 
some  of  the  maidens  and  younger  women  showed  con- 
scious glances  from  dark  and  handsome  eyes,  and 
made  haste  to  gather  their  saris  about  their  bodies 
or  their  breasts.  And,  indeed,  “the  eternal  feminine” 
is  essentially  the  same  the  world  over.  For  had  we 
not  noticed  on  the  streets  of  Bombay  that  when  the 
driver  of  the  garry  wished  a woman  who  persisted  in 
walking  in  front  of  his  horse,  to  get  out  of  the  way, 
he  cried  out,  “gliullaa  margary.  Mhan-ta-ree” 
(“Get  back,  old  woman”),  at  which  the  veiled  one,  if 
she  was  really  young,  pulled  the  veil  aside  to  dem- 
onstrate how  inapplicable  was  the  implied  insult. 
Most  of  the  bathers  were  shivering  with  the  cold; 
for  although  pith  hats  are  needed  in  this  part  of  In- 
dia to  protect  one  against  the  winter’s  sun,  the 
nights  and  early  mornings  are  cool  enough  to  make 
bathing  in  the  open  air  a veritable  penance  for  the 
native’s  sensitive  skin.  A few  were  ostensibly  pray- 
ing; fewer  still  showed  signs  of  really  being  ab- 
sorbed in  their  devotions. 

The  shrines  and  temples  along  the  bank  had  an 


180  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

abundance  of  “offerings”  in  and  around  them, — 
mostly  of  flowers ; but  of  them  all  not  another  dis- 
played so  many  gifts  of  floral  sort,  or  so  many  pies 
(a  copper  coin  of  the  value  of  about  one-quarter  of  a 
cent)  lying  on  the  floor  or  being  counted  by  the 
priests,  as  did  the  shrine  devoted  to  the  worship  of 
the  goddess  of  smallpox.  A veritable  species  of  devil- 
worship  this. 

The  upper  burning-ghat  had  as  yet  no  funeral 
pyre  lighted  and  no  corpse  brought  down  to  it  after 
being  made  ready  for  cremation.  But  by  the  time 
we  had  reached  the  lower  and  more  popular  burning- 
ghat,  the  business  of  the  day  was  well  begun.  One 
pyre  had  already  been  lighted  and  beside  it  stood  a 
man  feeding  it  with  bundles  of  straw;  for  the  wood 
seemed  green  and  much  in  need  of  coaxing.  In  the 
water  of  the  sacred  river,  near  by  the  spot  where 
the  fire  was  smouldering,  a dead  body  was  floating, 
while  it  waited  to  be  raised  from  its  watery  grave  and 
committed  to  the  arms  of  the  friendly  pyre,  when 
that  should  have  been  sufficiently  strengthened  for  its 
office.  The  boat  was  halted  a moment  and  brought 
nearer  to  the  bank  that  we  might  the  better  witness 
these  obsequies.  And  now  two  men  bearing  a rudely 
constructed  bamboo  litter  with  a corpse  swathed  in 
white  cotton,  came  trotting  down  into  the  water  and 
slid  off  their  burden  dexterously  from  its  lowered 
frame.  Then  one  of  them  tore  away  the  cotton  cov- 
erings from  the  face  and  poured  and  dashed  with 


ON  THE  BANK  ABOVE  THE  BURNING  GHAT 


Holy  Benares 


181 


his  hands  some  of  the  purifying  Ganges’  waters  upon 
the  exposed  head  of  the  corpse.  When  we  were  re- 
turning by  the  place  on  foot — for  we  got  out  of  the 
boat  just  above  the  Railway  bridge  and  took  it  again 
much  farther  up  the  river, — we  saw  one  body  being 
consumed  on  the  now  fiercely  burning  funeral  pyre, 
and  several  others  waiting  for  their  turn.  In  pass- 
ing the  ghat,  one  of  the  attendants  was  seen  to  seize 
upon  one  of  the  corpses  “lying  around,”  so  to  say, 
and  was  heard  to  cry  out  in  the  most  matter-of-fact 
way:  “Whose  body  is  this?” 

On  the  bank  above  the  burning  ghat,  in  the  form 
of  successive  terraces  of  human  beings,  were  crowds, 
some  of  whom  were  bargaining,  some  chattering  gos- 
sip, some  looking  unconcernedly  on. 

The  impressions  made  by  the  buildings  of  Benares 
as  they  lie  along  the  upper  bank,  and  as  seen  from 
the  river,  are  not  nearly  so  much  of  magnificence 
and  solemnity  as  the  photographs  indicate.  A few 
of  these  buildings,  especially  of  the  private  houses 
of  the  Rajas,  are  really  imposing;  or,  the  rather, 
they  have  been  imposing,  for  most  of  them  have  fallen 
into  a pitiable  state  of  decay.  The  most  truly  im- 
pressive feature  still  remaining  is  often  the  high 
flight  of  broad  stone  steps  which  leads  down  from 
the  foundation  walls  to  the  edge  of  the  river.  The 
clay  bank  on  this  side  of  the  Ganges  is  being  con- 
stantly and  rapidly  eaten  away ; and  indeed,  it  would 
seem  to  be  only  a question  of  time  when  all  tills  part 


182  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

of  Benares  will  be  in  ruins.  In  many  parts  of  the 
bank  the  lower  portions  of  the  steps  and  of  the 
foundation  walls  are  already  undermined  and  fallen. 
One  building  of  much  more  than  average  magnifi- 
cence, before  it  was  finished,  began  to  slide  down 
the  bank  toward  and  into  the  river. 

Our  boat-ride  finished,  we  wandered  through  some 
of  the  thickest  parts  of  the  city  situated  on  the  banks 
just  over  the  Ganges.  Anapurna,  or  “The  Tem- 
ple of  Plenty,”  “The  Golden  Temple”  dedicated  to 
Bisheshrmr,  the  “poison  god,”  or  Shiva,  the  famous 
Gyan  Kup  or  “Well  of  Knowledge,”  which  is  situated 
in  the  quadrangle  between  the  mosque  and  the  Tem- 
ple of  Bisheshwar,  as  though  to  court  the  favor  of 
Hindus  and  Moslems  alike  (for,  surely,  both  and 
all  men  need  to  drink  of  the  well  of  knowledge),  and 
a half-score  of  other  unassorted  temples  and  ghats, 
were  given  a passing  visit.  Of  all  these,  perhaps, 
Gyan  Kup  is  most  horribly  and  disgustingly  fas- 
cinating. As  to  its  attractions  let  us  quote  the  un- 
emotional but  not  untruthful  or  impious  description 
of  Murray’s  Hand-Book.  “The  quadrangle  itself 
is  unpleasant,  but  in  that  respect  falls  short  of  the 
well,  which  is  absolutely  fetid,  from  the  decaying 
flowers  thrown  into  it,  notwithstanding  that  it  has 
a grating  over  it,  overspread  with  a cloth;  for  in 
this  cloth  there  are  large  gaps,  and  flowers  are  con- 
tinually falling  through  them.  The  votaries  also 
throw  down  water;  and  as  they  are  not  at  all  par- 


Holy  Benares 


183 


ticular  how  they  throw  it,  they  make  the  pavement 
one  vast  puddle,  and  besprinkle  their  fellow  worship- 
pers all  over,  so  that  the  clothes  of  many  of  them 
are  in  a dripping  state.  . . . The  platform  is 
thronged  by  men  and  women,  and  the  horrible  din 
of  gongs  and  voices  deafens  the  visitor.  Crowds  of 
fresh  pilgrims  arrive  incessantly;  and  as  numbers  of 
cows  are  mixed  up  in  the  throng,  and  must  be 
treated  with  great  consideration,  the  jostling  is 
something  terrific.”  The  guide-book  very  properly 
omits  mentioning  the  contributions  made  to  the 
attractions  of  this  “Well  of  Knowledge”  by  the 
human  and  bovine  animals  who  crowd  its  sacred 
precincts. 

But  Gyan  Kup  is  only  all  this  part  of  India’s 
chief  holy  city,  concentrated  within  a few  square 
yards.  The  streets  of  this  section  of  Holy  Be- 
nares, paved  with  flagging  and  not  more  than  five  or 
six  feet  wide,  are  winding  lanes,  dank  and  slippery 
and  disgustingly  filthy  beyond  the  worst  Western 
examples.  They  are  crowded,  not  only  with  human 
beings,  themselves  filthy  and  half-naked,  but  with 
goats  and  cows  and  bullocks,  which  have  equal 
rights  of  way  with  men  and  women ; noisy  with  the 
chaffer  of  trade  and  the  gossip  and  wrangling  of 
worshippers.  More  physically  repulsive  than  the 
pest  houses  and  the  famine  camps  ai'e  the  ghats  and 
temples  of  the  city  which  is  the  center  of  the  popular 
worship  of  native  India.  If  there  were  any  moral 


184  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

seriousness,  of  which  there  is  so  much  in  the  Bud- 
dhist temples  of  Japan,  to  be  discovered  beneath  these 
physically  disgusting  aspects  of  the  “holiness”  to 
be  sought  and  found  in  this  religious  capital  of  the 
millions  of  Hinduism,  one  might  pardon  much,  if 
not  all,  of  that  which  is  so  offensive  to  nose  and  ears 
and  eyes.  But  the  amount  of  such  seriousness,  if 
any  of  it  exist,  is  not  obviously  large. 

In  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  however,  I had  an 
experience  of  the  “higher  Hinduism,”  although  of 
the  type  of  which  the  Raja  Bhinga  had  spoken  with 
such  marked  contempt,  that  helped  in  a measure  to 
redeem  the  impressions  of  the  morning  hours.  The 
lecture  was  given  under  the  auspices  of  the  Central 
Hindu  College,  which  was  opened  in  1898,  and  there- 
fore only  about  a year  before  our  visit.  This  in- 
stitution was  founded  to  give  the  higher-caste  Hin- 
dus an  education  in  Sanskrit  and  in  the  mysteries  of 
their  religion.  Its  beginnings  were  in  the  hands  of 
the  Theosophists,  with  Mrs.  Besant  as  its  patroness 
and  a Dr.  Richardson  as  its  Principal.  They  were 
just  then  building  a recitation-hall  with  sixteen 
rooms,  and  near  by  a home  for  Mrs.  Besant,  and 
another  for  the  Principal.  But  the  building  in  which 
the  lecture  was  to  be  given  was  of  a quite  different 
origin,  intention,  and  architecture.  It  had  been  in- 
tended by  the  previous  Raja  to  be  used  as  a summer 
palace.  But  before  the  palace  was  completed,  it 
was  struck  by  lightning;  and  this  the  superstitious 


Holy  Benares 


185 


owner  interpreted  as  a sign  from  the  gods  that  the 
completion  of  the  palace  would  be  unacceptable  to 
them.  His  son  had  given  it  over  to  the  Central 
Hindu  College,  with  considerable  adjoining  land,  in 
perpetuity.  Its  Hall  of  Audience  had  been  nearly 
completed  when  the  fateful  stroke  from  heaven  came, 
vetoing  its  further  adornment.  The  hall  was  two 
lofty  stories  high,  and  around  three  sides  of  it 
ran  galleries  supported  by  arches  on  beautiful 
slender  pillars  of  a mixed  Saracenic  and  Hindu 
architecture.  A platform  had  been  placed  in  the 
middle  of  the  long  high  decorated  wall  at  the  rear 
of  this  audience  chamber,  and  on  this  the  lecturer 
was  to  stand  while  speaking. 

The  extraordinary  weirdness  of  that  address,  to 
such  an  audience  and  in  such  surroundings,  will  not 
easily  pass  from  memory.  There  were  no  means  of 
lighting  the  hall,  except  by  the  candles  and  lanterns 
which  some  of  the  audience  had  brought  with  them 
to  guide  their  own  footsteps  or  the  drivers  of  their 
conveyances.  These  did  not  even  serve  to  make  the 
darkness  visible,  as  the  saying  is.  They  did,  how- 
ever, avail  to  make  more  startling  the  intent  visages 
and  piercing  eyes  of  those  who  sat  near  enough  to 
them  to  have  the  light  reflected  from  their  faces. 
The  large  hall  was  filled  with  listeners  of  high  intel- 
lectual quality.  There  was  a total  absence  of  the 
restlessness  which  had  often  made  so  embarrassing 
the  addressing  of  an  audience  in  Calcutta.  Their 


186  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

dresses  showed  that  they  were  almost  exclusively 
Hindus  and  Muhammadans;  only  a handful  of  for- 
eigners was  mingled  with  the  native  crowd.  The  lec- 
ture was  upon  “The  Reality  of  Mind”  and  was  dis- 
tinctly more  technical  than  I ventured  upon  anywhere 
else  in  India,  with  the  possible  exception  of  Bom- 
bay. But  it  was  listened  to  throughout — and  it 
considerably  overran  the  customary  limit  of  an  hour 
— without  any  sign  of  flagging  attention,  not  to  say, 
of  willingness  to  leave  the  room.  When  I compli- 
mented Principal  Richardson  on  the  behavior  of  his 
students,  many  of  whom  were  in  the  audience,  he 
assured  me  that  it  was  a part  of  college  discipline 
not  to  permit  a student  to  leave  the  room  while  the 
lecture  was  still  in  progress. 

The  most  distinguished  of  our  excursions  during 
our  stay  in  India  was  to  Sarnath  and  Ramnagar,  on 
invitation  of  the  Maharaja  of  Benares.  Of  all  places 
in  Asia,  and  indeed  for  that  matter  in  the  whole 
world,  Sarnath  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  for 
the  student  of  man’s  religious  history.  For  here 
was  the  site  of  old  Benares  where  Buddha  taught, 
And  of  the  various  religions,  Buddhism  has  com- 
manded the  adherence  of  the  largest  number  of  the 
human  race;  and  of  all  others,  in' some  important 
'respects,  it  most  resembles  Christianity.  The  tradi- 
tion is  that  after  Gotama,  by  agonized  contemplation 
under  the  sacred  Bo  tree,  or  tree  of  wisdom,  had 
become  clear  in  his  own  mind,  a Buddha,  an  enlight- 


Holy  Benares 


187 


ened  one,  and  so  had  attained  to  Nirvana,  he  set 
out  to  proclaim  this  new  way  of  salvation  to  his 
old  teachers.  Finding  them  dead,  he  determined 
to  seek  out  and  convert  his  five  former  disciples.  An 
old  hymn  tells  us  how  the  Buddha,  with  his  counte- 
nance glorified  with  his  discovery,  met  on  the  way  a 
wandering  sophist  with  whom  he  had  already  been 
acquainted.  The  latter  was  so  struck  with  Buddha’s 
expression  of  religious  exaltation  and  holy  calm  that 
he  asked  whose  religion  it  was  that  could  account  for 
the  happy  change.  “I  am  on  my  way  now,”  replied 
the  enlightened  one,  “to  the  city  of  Benares,  to  beat 
the  drum  of  the  Ambrosia  (to  set  up  the  light  of  the 
doctrine  of  Nirvana)  in  the  darkness  of  the  world.” 
And  on  being  questioned  further  as  to  his  new  doc- 
trine, he  responded:  “Those  indeed  are  conquerors 

who,  as  I have  now,  have  conquered  the  three  intox- 
ications (the  mental  intoxication  arising  from  ignor- 
ance, sensuality,  or  craving  after  future  life).  Evil 
dispositions  have  ceased  in  me;  therefore  is  it  that 
I am  conqueror.”  Then  the  sophist  answered:  “In 
that  case,  venerable  Gotama,  your  way  lies  yonder” ; 
but  he  himself  shook  his  head  and  turned  in  the 
opposite  direction. 

The  direction  which  Buddha  followed  led  him  to 
the  Deer-forest,  where  his  five  ascetic  disciples  were 
then  living.  And  here,  at  the  Deer-forest  near 
Benares,  the  “Enlightened  One”  set  up  his  school 
until  he  had  converted  about  threescore  of  personal 


188  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

followers,  or  devoted  disciples,  and  a certain  larger 
number  of  outsiders  who  were  more  or  less  inclined 
toward  his  way  of  salvation.  From  here  he  made 
preaching  excursions  throughout  Northern  India, 
but  never  at  a very  great  distance  from  Benares. 

Chinese  Buddhist  pilgrims  who  visited  Sarnath 
from  the  fourth  century  after  Christ  onward  have 
left  accounts  of  the  Buddhist  monastery  centuries 
earlier  founded  there.  One  of  them  describes  “the 
monastery  of  the  Deer  Park”  as  divided  into  eight 
parts,  and  surrounded  by  a wall  within  which  were 
balustrades,  two-storied  palaces,  a stupa  of  brick 
with  a hundred  rows  of  niches  around  it,  each  holding 
a statue  of  Buddha  in  embossed  gold.  West  of 
the  monastery  was  a tank  in  which,  according  to 
tradition,  Buddha  bathed;  and  to  the  West  of  that, 
another  tank  where  he  washed  his  monk’s  water- 
pot;  and  to  the  North  a third  where  he  washed 
his  garments.  There  are  still  acres  of  mounds  and 
excavations  at  Sarnath,  which  remain  to  show  how 
extensive  the  monastery  buildings  must  at  one  time 
have  been.  And  besides  very  ancient  tanks  and 
stupas  (or  topes),  there  are  Buddhist  relic-towers  in 
a good  state  of  preservation  at  Sarnath. 

As  early  as  about  seven  o’clock  in  the  morning 
the  vehicle  of  the  hospitable  Maharaja  drove  up 
to  the  door  ready  to  take  us  up  to  the  spot  where 
we  were  to  cross  the  Ganges.  The  vehicle  was  an 
ancient  and  much  dilapidated  barouche ; but  it  was 


Holy  Benares 


189 


accompanied  and  presided  over  by  four  servants 
dressed  in  faded  liveries.  Indeed,  the  driver  had  a 
large  patch  on  a prominent  place  in  his  red  coat. 
What,  however,  was  there  in  such  trifles  to  mar  the 
comfort,  pleasure,  and  improvement  of  the  journey; 
or  to  lessen  our  gratitude  for  the  thoughtful  kind- 
ness  which  had  made  it  possible? 

When  we  reached  a place  in  the  river  opposite  the 
site  of  the  Raja’s  ancestral  palace  at  Ramnagar,  we 
found  a row-boat — or  to  use  the  more  appropriate 
and  imposing  word,  a royal  barge — with  five  men 
waiting  for  our  arrival.  The  fog  on  the  Ganges  was 
exceedingly  thick  that  winter  morning,  about  the 
thickest  fresh-water  fog  I had  ever  seen.  This  made 
the  row  across  the  river  extremely  impressive  for 
its  exaggerated  absence  of  all  sights  and  sounds. 
All  the  senses  could  tell  us  was  that  we  were  on 
yellow  water  going  somewhere  enveloped  in  an  im- 
penetrable veil  of  mist.  It  was  very  weird  and  even 
awesome.  One  could  easily  imagine  that  one  was 
being  rowed  by  Charon’s  boatmen  over  the  Styx  to 
the  “Land  of  Silence,”  even  to  the  “Land  of  darkness 
and  of  the  Shadow  of  death.” 

As  we  neared  the  other  bank,  after  what  seemed 
an  extravagantly  long  period  of  river-passage,  the 
mist  began  to  thin  out;  and  peering  through  it  we 
saw  a crowd  of  attendants  and  sightseers  waiting  for 
us,  and  in  the  midst  a stately  elephant  caparisoned 
and  properly  officered  for  our  conveyance  to  the 


190  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

place  most  sacred  in  the  early  history  of  the  spread 
of  Buddhism.  The  name  of  the  elephant,  we  were 
told,  was  Radhapiyari,  the  “beloved  of  Radha,” — 
so  called  after  the  favorite  mistress  of  the  god 
Krishna.  Radhapiyari,  in  spite  of  her  exalted  name 
and  title  to  unsual  pride,  knelt  for  us  most  promptly 
and  kindly ; and  we  mounted  as  promptly  and  quietly 
as  possible,  for  it  is  not  well  to  keep  an  elephant 
whose  name  is  associated  with  a god  too  long  upon 
her  knees.  Mistresses  of  important  personages, 
whether  human  or  animal,  are  apt  to  have  a nasty 
temper  and  an  uncertain  way  of  behaving  themselves. 
And  her  lord  and  master  Krishna  was  a god  of  many 
unscrupulous  and  mischievous  tricks.  Our  much  dis- 
tinguished elephant  waited,  however,  until  we  were 
well  ready,  and  only  signified  its  growing  impatience 
by  one  or  two  insignificant  snorts. 

At  the  word  of  command  Radhapiyari  rose  and 
started  up  the  bank  with  an  easy — for  an  elephant 
— and  dignified  pace.  But  when  she  had  passed  the 
place  of  her  stabling,  she  seemed  to  become  less 
pleased  with  the  direction  in  which  she  was  being 
driven,  and  less  content  with  her  load.  Her  frequent 
and  persistent  efforts  to  turn  about,  first  to  the 
right  and  then  to  the  left,  produced  a curious 
corkscrew  motion  that  threatened  sea-sickness  for 
the  more  sensitive  of  the  four  of  her  owner’s  guests 
who  were  seated  on  her  back.  Her  impatience  seemed 
to  increase;  small,  short,  but  suggestive  preliminary 


Holy  Benares 


191 


snorts  gave  token  that  the  ending  of  this  elephant- 
ride  might  not  be  altogether  so  pleasant  as  its  begin- 
ning had  been.  We  did  not  take  kindly  to  the 
prospect  of  being  run  away  with  by  an  elephant,  al- 
though she  bore  the  name  of  the  favorite  mistress  of 
the  deity  celebrated  in  the  “song  of  the  Blessed 
One.”  But  the  driver  knew  his  beast;  and  the  event 
showed  the  wisdom  of  firm  and  prompt  treatment  to 
one  of  Radhapiyari’s  temperament  and  sex.  For, 
losing  his  own  patience,  he  drew  out  his  long  steel 
prod  and  gave  the  beloved  of  Radha  a most  vicious 
stab  behind  the  ear.  The  quieting,  instead  of  ex- 
asperating—as  I who  sat  next  the  driver  feared 
it  would  be — effect  of  this  punishment,  was  positively 
marvellous.  From  this  time  onward,  the  gait  of  her 
ladyship  became  less  disturbingly  serpentine ; her  ex- 
postulary  snorting  entirety  ceased.  When  we  reached 
the  temple  at  Sarnath  we  rode  once  around  it  on 
the  elephant’s  back,  and  then  she  went  submissively 
down  on  her  knees  and  to  us,  now  safety  conveyed 
and  dismounted,  held  out  to  each  one  in  turn,  her 
trunk  in  petition  of  some  reward.  But  alas  and 
shame ! — we  had  not  thought  to  bring  even  a few 
pies  worth  of  sweets,  to  say  nothing  of  an  apple 
from  America  or  Japan.  Notwithstanding  such  ne- 
glect, a tap  of  her  forehead  from  her  driver  caused 
Radhapiyari’s  trunk  to  rise  in  salaam,  to  which  we 
respectfully  salaamed  in  return. 

We  then  had  opportunity  to  walk  about  the  prin- 


192  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

cipal  temple,  or  stupa,  and  examine  it  at  our  leisure 
more  carefully.  Briefly  described,  the  structure  con- 
sists of  a stone  basement  93  feet  in  diameter,  solid- 
ly built  by  clamping  the  stone  together  with  iron 
to  the  height  of  43  feet.  In  each  of  the  eight  pro- 
jecting faces  of  this  lower  part  is  a niche,  which 
seems  to  have  been  intended  to  contain  a figure  of 
Buddha  in  his  well-known  sitting  posture;  and  be- 
low the  niches  is  a band  of  exquisitely  sculptured 
ornament  which  encircles  the  monument.  The  blocks 
of  stone  covering  the  central  part  are  carved  in 
relief  in  a profusion  of  various  forms,  geometrical, 
animal,  human,  and  representative  of  the  Hindu  gods 
— the  whole  so  much  resembling  the  mixture  of  Hindu 
and  Western  art  employed  upon  the  mosques  we  had 
seen  in  Delhi,  that  one  could  scarcely  fail  to  believe 
both  to  be  of  substantially  the  same  date.  The 
roof  is  a modification  of  that  prevalent  with  the 
Hindu  temples  both  hereabouts  and  in  Southern  In- 
dia. The  detailed  description  of  the  other  monu- 
ments and  the  disclosures  of  the  excavations  respect- 
ing this  ancient  seat  of  Buddhism,  belong  rather  to 
the  books  on  archseology  than  to  our  simple  nar- 
rative of  a winter’s  travel  in  India. 

We  returned  from  Sarnath  in  a much  more  modern 
barouche,  which  had  followed  us  from  the  Raja’s 
palace  to  the  temple,  stopping  by  the  way  to  see 
one  of  his  several  gardens.  On  arriving  at  Ram- 
nagar,  the  residence  of  the  Maharaja  of  Benares, 


Holy  Benares 


193 


we  were  first  of  all  shown  the  royal  Bengal  tiger; 
the  beast,  however,  would  not  be  provoked  to  any- 
thing more  terrific  than  rolling  over  on  his  back, 
stretching  wide  open  his  jaws,  and  uttering  a few 
angry  growls.  We  were  then  shown  through  the 
palace ; but  since  his  Excellency  was  absent  tiger- 
hunting and  the  library  closed,  we  could  not  see  its 
greatest  treasure,  the  celebrated  illuminated  copy 
of  the  Ramayana.  A row  across  the  Ganges  and 
a drive  down  its  opposite  bank  brought  us  to  our 
host’s  house  in  time  for  tiffin. 

At  4 :30  that  afternoon  I spoke  in  the  hall  of  the 
Mission’s  high-school  building  on  “Essential  Chris- 
tianity.” The  audience,  both  in  numbers  and  in  qual- 
ity, was  much  inferior  to  that  of  the  night  before ; 
and  the  embarrassment  as  to  what  should  be  appro- 
priately said  was  increased  by  the  fact  that  mission- 
aries who  had  enjoyed  in  England  a somewhat 
thorough  theological  training,  and  Hindu  boys 
scarcely  above  the  age  of  infants,  made  up  a con- 
siderable portion  of  the  audience. 

An  “At  home,”  at  which  most  of  the  guests  were 
missionaries  and  their  families,  formed  the  last  but 
not  least  pleasant  of  our  experiences  in  the  religious 
capital  of  India.  From  one  of  the  guests,  who  was 
the  son  of  a missionary  but  who  was  employed  as  a 
registrar  in  the  government  service,  I heard  for  the 
first  time  about  the  incoming  system  of  using  “thumb- 
impressions”  as  a check  to  perjury  and  other  forms 


194  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

of  fraud.  The  willingness  to  commit  perjury  by 
denying  their  signatures  was  nearly  universally 
prevalent  among  the  natives  of  Benares  and  vicinity. 

At  the  request  of  my  host  I spoke  about  missions 
in  Japan ; but  stopped  sooner  than  I should  otherwise 
have  done,  for  my  hearers  were  becoming  exceeding- 
ly nervous  at  the  unusual  mutters  of  thunder  and 
the  occasional  flashes  of  lightning.  And,  indeed, 
there  was  good  reason  for  such  nervousness ; for  to 
be  out  in  the  night  with  native  drivers  and  untrained 
horses,  in  a storm  of  thunder  and  lightning,  involves 
no  insignificant  danger.  The  scene  through  the  open 
door,  as  the  guests  were  taking  their  carriages,  was 
a very  unusual  and  unusually  wild  one,  for  that 
part  of  the  world,  at  that  time  of  year.  And  when 
we  were  called  at  halfpast  five  next  morning,  to  take 
the  train  away  from  “Holy  Benares,”  it  was  still 
raining  heavily. 


CHAPTER  IX 


THE  CAVES  OF  ELEORA 

WE  were  now  going  from  the  ancient  but  still 
active  and  populous  center  of  Hinduism,  both 
of  the  vulgar  and  of  the  so-called  “higher”  sort,  to 
the  region  where  the  three  greater  religions  of  India, 
and  the  political  and  social  forces  supporting  them, 
had  for  centuries  contended  for  the  supremacy.  In 
this  region  their  successive  triumphs  over  the  re- 
ligious consciousness  of  the  people  had  recorded 
themselves  in  the  form  of  monastic  cells  and  temples 
cut  out  of  the  “everlasting  hills”  in  enduring  rock. 
In  the  way  of  structures  designed  for  religious  uses, 
it  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  a more  striking  contrast 
than  that  between  the  filth  and  tawdriness  of  the 
temples  of  Holy  Benares  and  the  solitariness  and 
suggestive  solemnity  of  the  Caves  of  Ellora. 

But  we  were  also  going  from  places  where,  in 
spite  of  a scarcity  of  food  and  some  additional  suf- 
fering on  the  part  of  that  two  hundred  and  thirty 
millions  of  the  two  hundred  and  thirty-one  millions 
of  the  population  of  India  who  are  always  hungry, 
there  were  great  rivers  still  flowing  and  few  or  none 

195 


196  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

of  the  poorest  were  starving  before  your  very  eyes, 
and  man  could  not  help,  to  a region  where  the  fam- 
ine was  most  bitter,  where  cattle  and  human  beings 
were  lying  dead  or  dying  of  starvation  in  the  fields 
and  by  the  roadsides ; and  where,  on  account  of  the 
numbers,  efficient  universal  succor  was  practically 
impossible.  (Lest  the  reader  doubt  this  statement, 
let  him  give  full  credit  to  the  story  of  the  driver  of 
one  of  the  “water  trains”  on  his  way  to  one  of  the 
cantonments,  who  at  a way-station  was  “held  up” 
by  scores  of  women  begging  “Sahib,  just  one  drink 
of  water  before  we  die,”  and  refusing  to  move  out  of 
the  way  of  his  engine  until  their  petition  had  been 
granted.  That  train-load  of  water  was  emptied  by 
the  thirsty  of  the  surrounding  villages ; and  its  piti- 
ful train-crew  went  back  to  the  source  of  supply  for 
another  load.) 

It  was,  indeed,  only  on  this  excursion  that  we  got 
a real  taste  of  the  bitterness  of  the  famine  of  1899- 
1901  in  India.  The  foreigners,  in  general,  and  the 
well-to-do  natives  who  dwelt  in  the  cities,  and  even 
the  half-starved  crowds  who  still  had  strength 
enough  left  to  walk  or  crawl  into  the  cities,  did  not 
show  to  others,  or  themselves  know  by  experience, 
the  severest  aspects  of  that  terrible  season.  It  was 
in  the  country,  among  the  poorest  agricultural 
classes  (and  the  greater  multitudes  of  India’s  popu- 
lation belong  to  these  classes)  that  the  horrors  of 
such  a famine  became  unmistakably  clear — the  hor- 


The  Caves  of  EUora 


197 


rors,  and  the  helplessness  in  any  satisfying  degree 
of  human  agencies  for  immediate  relief.  It  was, 
then,  a valuable  experience  for  us  as  travelers,  if  we 
were  to  understand  and  sympathize,  to  be  subjected 
ourselves,  though  only  for  a day  or  two  and  in  slight 
degree,  under  the  stress  of  famine-hunger. 

But  we  were  also  going  from  those  parts  of  North- 
ern and  Northeastern  India,  where  there  was  at  the 
time  comparatively  little  plague,  back  to  the  region 
of  the  Deccan  and  the  plague-stricken  Presidency 
of  Bombay.  And  as  it  so  happened,  we  were  to  hear 
on  the  way  some  concrete  and  authentic  stories  from 
one  who  had  had  much  experience  with  that  most 
terrific  of  pestilences,  the  “black  death,”  the  “great 
death,”  the  bubonic  plague.  For  when  we  changed 
to  the  through  Bombay  express  at  Mogul  Serai,  we 
were  put  into  the  same  compartment  with  a young 
woman  who,  as  it  soon  was  made  known  to  us,  was 
a government  nurse  going  home  to  England  on  her 
well-deserved  furlough.  From  her  my  wife  obtained 
by  questioning  many  stories,  modestly  told  by  the 
brave  woman,  to  illustrate,  among  other  features, 
the  freaky  and  incalculable  way  in  which  the  plague 
often  does  its  work  of  death.  A high-caste  Hindu 
woman,  who  was  about  to  be  confined,  was  brought 
into  the  hospital  already  afflicted  with  the  pest. 
When  her  hour  came,  it  seemed  necessary  to  the 
nurses  to  summon  a European  doctor  to  assist  her 
delivery  with  instruments.  But  her  husband  and 


198  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

other  family  friends  refused  and  said  that,  although 
they  much  wished  an  heir,  they  would  rather  she  and 
the  child  should  both  die,  and  the  estate  be  forfeited 
to  another  branch  of  the  family,  than  that  she  should 
be  defiled  by  the  slightest  touch  from  any  other  man 
than  a Hindu.  Strangely  enough,  the  gods  justified 
and  rewarded  their  fidelity ; for  the  child  survived 
and  the  mother  recovered.  In  another  case,  a woman 
far  gone  with  the  plague  was  brought  to  the  hospital, 
and  refused  to  have  liter  nursing  child  taken  from 
her  breast.  There  the  infant  clung,  and  in  trying 
to  satisfy  its  hunger,  not  only  drew  what  nourish- 
ment it  could  from  its  dying  mother,  but  even  seized 
upon  the  poultice  with  which  the  mother’s  breast  had 
been  dressed.  The  mother  died,  but  the  infant  took 
no  harm.  Sad  indeed  was  the  fate  of  the  English 
nurse  into  whose  open  eye  a delirious  patient  spat, 
as  she  bent  over  him  in  the  effort  to  relieve  his  agony. 
The  poor  girl  died  within  thirty-six  hours. 

There  were  several  experiences  which  occurred  on 
the  way  from  Benares  to  the  Caves  of  Ellora  which 
left  a distinct  trail  of  suffering  over  the  remainder 
of  this  winter  in  India.  The  night  which  I spent  on 
the  narrow  shelf  dignified  with  the  title  of  an  “upper 
berth,”  so  filled  my  lungs  with  dust  and  cinders  that 
it  brought  on  an  attack  of  pernicious  influenza,  from 
which  it  was  impossible  to  recover  until  we  had  got 
to  sea  again.  When  the  train  reached  Munmar 
Junction  the  next  morning  an  hour  late,  we  found 


The  Caves  of  EUora 


199 


letters  which  resulted  in  sending  our  native  travel- 
ing companion  on  to  Amednagar  “with  the  luggage.” 
With  the  luggage  he  went  indeed ; for  he  did  not  even 
leave  the  bundle  of  bedding,  which  was  quite  indis- 
pensable for  our  comfort  in  the  bungalow  of  the 
Nizam  of  Hyderabad  which  His  Excellency  had 
placed  at  our  disposal  during  our  stay  at  the  Caves 
of  Ellora.  However,  we  survived  this  and  other 
slight  inconveniences,  and  look  back  upon  this  part 
of  our  travels  as  among  the  most  interesting  and 
informing. 

The  Nizam  of  Hyderabad  is  the  principal  Muham- 
madan ruler  of  India.  The  family  was  founded  by 
Asaf  Jah,  a distinguished  Turcoman  soldier  of 
Aurangzeb,  who  was  appointed  in  1713  subahdar  of 
the  Deccan,  with  the  title  of  “regulator  of  the  state,” 
but  who  rebelled  and  eventually  threw  off  the  control 
of  the  court  at  Delhi.  This  part  of  India  continued 
to  be  what  it  had  been  for  centuries  before,  the  the- 
atre of  struggles  between  the  Hindu  and  the  Moslem 
rulers  and  the  religions  which  they  respectively  pro- 
tected and  patronized.  At  the  time  of  the  Indian 
Mutiny  in  1857  it  was  ruled  by  the  father  of  the 
man  who  was  Nizam  at  the  time  of  our  visit;  and 
since  he  remained  faithful  to  the  English,  his  son 
had  become  established  firmly  as  the  principal  inde- 
pendent native  Muhammadan  ruler  upon  the  entire 
continent.  Indeed,  Hyderabad  is  the  principal  na- 
tive state  of  India.  The  territory  over  which  the 


200  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

Nizam  rules  is  rather  more  than  80,000  square  miles, 
and  is  inhabited  by  nearly  12,000,000  of  people.  Its 
capital  city  is  the  fourth  largest  in  India,  and  boasts 
approximately  a half-million  of  inhabitants.  On  the 
whole,  the  present  Nizam  has  been  a wise  and  suc- 
cessful ruler.  He  was  the  originator  of  the  Imperial 
Service  troops  which  at  that  time  formed  the  chief 
organization  among  the  natives  for  the  defence  of 
India ; and  which  in  the  present  European  war  has 
rendered  such  hearty  and  efficient  service  to  the 
cause  of  Great  Britain  and  its  Allies.  Among  his 
most  recent  improvements  at  that  particular  time 
was  a railway  which  was  to  traverse  a rich  cotton 
country,  and  which  on  account  of  the  abundant  sup- 
ply of  cheap  coal  available  could  give  low  fares  to 
the  natives  and  yet  afford  a handsome  revenue  to 
the  state.  That  very  year  of  famine,  1899-1900, 
the  total  number  of  the  Nizam’s  subjects  receiving 
relief  from  his  bounty  rose  to  nearly  a half-million 
daily.  It  was  the  railway  just  referred  to  which, 
although  it  was  not  yet  finished  through,  we  were 
to  take  in  order  to  reach  the  point  favored  with  such 
accommodation,  nearest  to  our  destination.  The 
train  which  stood  waiting  for  the  belated  Bombay 
express,  on  the  track  of  the  Hyderabad-Godavari 
railway,  we  boarded  forthwith ; and  after  some  hours 
of  jogging  along  over  its  recently  built  and  there- 
fore rough  track,  reached  the  station  named  Daula- 
tabad  from  the  world-renowned  ancient  ruined  rock- 
fortress  a short  distance  away. 


The  Caves  of  Ellora 


201 


At  the  station  we  were  met  by  Dr.  Ballantine  of 
the  American  Board  Mission,  who  had  sent  across 
country  his  tonga  with  its  bullocks  as  draft-horses, 
and  two  servants  in  charge,  to  carry  what  of  sup- 
plies of  water,  food,  and  bedding  were  necessary  for 
us  and  for  the  animals.  He  had  himself  preceded 
the  servants  and  the  supplies  on  his  wheel, — a much 
lighter  and  speedier  vehicle  than  the  tonga  and  the 
bullocks. 

Our  destination  for  the  night  was  Rauza  or  Rosa, 
some  eight  miles  from  the  station,  near  which  was 
the  Nizam’s  bungalow  where  the  servants  were  to 
prepare  our  dinner  and  beds.  It  was  necessary  to 
rise  very  early  the  next  morning  so  as  to  accomplish 
the  somewhat  difficult  pedestrian  task  of  walking  to 
the  Caves  and  substantially  completing  our  super- 
ficial examination  of  them  before  the  severer  heat  of 
middle  and  early  afternoon  came  overhead. 

The  intending  visitor  to  the  only  “caves”  in  all 
India  which  rival  in  interest  the  Caves  of  Ellora  is 
advised  by  Murray’s  Hand-Book  “to  arrange  for  a 
bullock-cart  with  a change  of  bullocks  on  the  road 
for  each  person  of  the  party.  Two  persons  in  one 
cart  will  find  it  extremely  uncomfortable.  A trav- 
eler who  does  not  know  the  language  well  must  be 
accompanied  by  a servant  or  interpreter,  and  each 
person  must  have  bedding  and  provisions.”  After 
seeing  us  ensconced  in  the  bullock-cart,  back  to  back 
with  the  driver’s  seat  and  facing  to  the  rear  so  that 
the  landscape  opened  to  view  only  after  it  had  been 


202  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

already  traversed,  Dr.  Ballantine  mounted  his  wheel, 
and  directing  the  servants  to  follow  in  his  tracks, 
soon  disappeared  in  the  distance.  We  did  not,  in- 
deed, find  the  bullock-cart  “extremely  uncomfort- 
able”; but  neither,  on  the  other  hand,  could  it  be 
called  exactly  comfortable.  We  did  soon  find,  how- 
ever, that,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  neither  we  nor 
the  servants  were  facile  in  the  use  of  the  language 
of  the  country  (for  in  India  there  is  no  one  native 
language  which  serves  the  purposes  of  easy  com- 
munication in  all  parts)  we  had  lost  our  guide  and 
interpreter.  Without  him,  our  bullock-cart  on  the 
plains  of  the  Deccan  was  not  unlike  a ship  at  sea 
without  compass  or  pilot. 

The  bullocks  were  already  pretty  thoroughly  used 
up  by  their  long  journey  from  home  to  the  station 
at  Daulatabad ; and  so  they  walked  very  slowly  ex- 
cept when  the  shouting  and  gesticulating  of  the 
driver  started  them  into  a brief  fit  of  ambling.  The 
view  from  the  highland  to  which  we  were  now  rising 
was  very  beautiful,  especially  as  it  began  to  be 
lighted  up  by  a sun  that  had  declined  far  toward 
its  setting.  The  surrounding  country  is  ordinarily 
deemed  fertile,  and  is  for  that  part  of  India  thickly 
inhabited ; although  it  now  sustains  only  a fraction 
of  its  once  teeming  and  thrifty  population.  Signs 
of  the  prevailing  famine  were  by  no  means  lacking 
by  the  way;  indeed  in  spots  they  were  only  too  ob- 
vious, abundant  and  frightful.  Such  signs  were  the 


The  Caves  of  Ellora 


203 


bleaching  bones  of  the  animals  which  had  already 
perished  from  lack  of  food  and  water;  and  the  ema- 
ciated bodies  of  human  beings  wandering  in  the  fields 
or  lying  by  the  roadside.  Our  way  lay  through  two 
ruined  villages, — Daulatabad,  whose  wonderful  rock- 
fortress  we  were  to  visit  on  our  return  journey,  and 
Rauza,  the  Kerbela,  or  holy  shrine  of  the  Deccan 
Mussulmans,  distinguished  as  the  burial-place  of 
some  of  the  most  notable  of  the  Mogul  dynasty. 
Among  them  the  most  notable  of  all  is  no  other  than 
Aurangzeb,  the’  rebellious  and  traitorous  son  of 
Shah  Jehan.  It  was  he  who  surrounded  the  city  with 
a high  stone  wall  with  battlements  and  loopholes. 
But  this,  and  the  many  mosques  and  tombs  which 
abound  in  every  direction  on  each  side  of  the  high- 
way, are  now  largely  in  ruins.  Rauza  is  still,  how- 
ever, a place  of  great  resort  by  the  Muhammadans 
in  the  summer  months,  on  account  of  its  mild  cli- 
mate; and  nearby  an  annual  fair  is  held  in  February, 
at  which  thousands  of  the  faithful  are  accustomed 
to  assemble  for  those  mixed  purposes  of  trade,  gos- 
sip, and  worship,  which  throughout  the  Orient  bring 
the  crowds  together  at  all  their  festivals. 

The  slowness  of  our  willing  but  tired  beasts  had 
now  let  the  darkness  overtake  us ; and  the  questions 
put  to  the  few  Muhammadans  who  stayed  to  be 
questioned,  whether  the  foreign  Sahib  had  passed 
that  way,  either  elicited  conflicting  answers  or  no 
answer  at  all.  It  was  becoming  impossible  to  dis- 


204  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

tinguish  even  the  roadway  from  the  upland  plain 
over  which  we  were  taking  no  well-marked  course,  not 
to  speak  of  steering  the  bullock-cart  b}'  the  slender 
thread  of  a track  left  by  the  wheel  of  the  bicycle. 
We  seemed  to  be  journeying  over  a trackless  waste — 
somewhat  up-hill,  to  be  sure,  but  coming  no  whence 
and  going  no  whither,  and  with  no  sign  or  voice  to 
tell  us  of  our  destination  or  of  the  course  which, 
even  if  it  could  be  confidently  followed,  would  surely 
bring  us  to  the  desired  place.  We  could  not  com- 
municate, either  to  suggest  or  to  inquire,  with  any 
one  who  might  be  supposed  to  have  the  requisite 
knowledge.  The  situation  was  not  really  threaten- 
ing,— or  at  least,  I did  not  suppose  that  it  was.  But 
it  did  make  a strong  impression  of  unfamiliarity  and 
weirdness  upon  the  imagination.  And  perhaps  the 
exhortation  of  the  runaway  Venetian  boy  who  had 
such  remarkable  adventures  and  became  so  consider- 
able a personage  in  India  in  the  seventeenth  century, 
was  not  entirely  inapplicable  to  our  situation  at  that 
later  time.  “I  would  warn  the  reader,”  says  Nic- 
colao  Manucci,  the  so-called  “Pepys  of  Mogul  In- 
dia,” “never  to  stray  far  from  his  companions,  be- 
cause he  might  come  across  robbers  in  these  woods. 
When  they  find  any  person  apart  from  his  com- 
pany they  rob  him.”  But  nothing  of  this  sort  was 
to  be  our  fate;  for,  thanks  to  the  suggestion  of  the 
feminine  art  of  devising  expedients,  by  making  sure 
that  the  servant  should  frequently  recover  and  verify 


The  Caves  of  EUora 


205 


the  lost  bicycle  track  with  the  light  of  a lantern,  just 
as  we  had  begun  seriously  to  contemplate  spending 
the  night  in  the  open  air  in  the  bullock-cart,  we  saw 
ahead  of  us  the  light  of  a candle  set  in  the  window 
of  the  bungalow. 

A very  good  bungalow  is  that  which  the  Nizam  of 
Hyderabad  has  provided  for  his  guests,  from  which 
to  set  forth  to  explore  the  caves  of  EUora.  On  ar- 
rival there  we  found  that  another  missionary  friend 
was  waiting  for  us, — Mr.  Fairbanks  having  come 
across  country,  also  on  his  wheel,  to  welcome  us,  and 
with  us  to  have  a first  sight  of  the  Caves  of  EUora. 
It  did  not  take  the  servants  long  to  prepare  a whole- 
some dinner ; and  since  our  friends  had  brought  along 
an  abundance  of  bedding  for  the  entire  party,  we 
were  in  every  way  made  comfortable.  After  dinner 
we  tried  faithfully  to  study  again  through  Fergus- 
son’s  account  of  the  wonderful  architectural  struc- 
tures which  we  were  to  see  with  our  own  eyes  on  the 
following  morning;  but  unconquerable  sleepiness  soon 
overcame  us,  and  we  went  early  to  bed.  For  the  de- 
tails of  what  we  saw  of  these  wonderful  structures 
cut  out  of  the  solid  rock,  when  regarded  from  the 
architectural  point  of  view,  we  must  refer  the  reader, 
some  evening  when  he  is  not  so  sleepy  as  were  we  that 
evening,  to  Fergusson’s  Rock-cut  Temples  of  India. 

The  Caves  of  Ellora  are  in  several  respects  the 
best  worth  visiting  of  all  the  similar  sights  in  the 
Continent  of  India.  The  Caves  of  Ajanta  surpass 


20 6 Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

them,  indeed,  in  that  they  “furnish  a history  of 
Buddhist  art,  and  illustrate  the  legends  of  the  re- 
ligion and  the  domestic  life  of  the  people  from  shortly 
after  the  reign  of  Asoka  to  shortly  before  the  expul- 
sion of  the  faith  from  India.”  The  oldest  of  them 
is  older  than  any  of  the  Ellora  caves ; it  is  believed 
by  some  to  date  from  about  200  B.  C.  The  decoration 
of  the  Ajanta  caves  is  on  the  whole  more  varied,  rich, 
and  beautiful.  But  the  Caves  of  Ellora  are  much 
more  accessible, — especially  since  the  Nizam’s  rail- 
way has  been  built ; they  illustrate  the  religious  sym- 
bolism and  development  of  the  Jain  and  Hindu,  as 
well  as  the  Buddhist,  religions ; and  one  of  these 
temples,  which  is  not  only  itself,  but  also  has  its 
court  and  immediate  surroundings,  all  sculptured 
out  of  the  solid  rock,  surpasses  in  size  and  magnifi- 
cence, and  in  daring  of  conception  and  execution, 
anything  else  of  its  kind  in  that  country,  if  not  in 
the  whole  world. 

To  give  an  understanding  of  the  gross  features  of 
this  remarkable  series  of  rock-cells  and  rock-temples 
we  may  be  pardoned  for  quoting  two  official  descrip- 
tions. “Architecturally,”  says  Mr.  Fergusson,  “the 
Ellora  Caves  differ  from  those  of  Ajanta,  in  conse- 
quence of  their  being  excavated  in  the  sloping  sides 
of  a hill,  and  not  in  a nearly  perpendicular  cliff. 
From  this  formation  of  the  ground  almost  all  the 
caves  at  Ellora  have  courtyards  in  front  of  them. 
Frequently  also  an  outer  wall  of  rock,  with  an  en- 


The  Caves  of  Ettora 


207 


trance  through  it,  left  standing,  so  that  the  caves 
are  not  generally  seen  from  the  outside  at  all,  and  a 
person  might  pass  along  their  front  without  being 
aware  of  their  existence,  unless  warned  of  the  fact.” 
“The  Caves,”  writes  Dr.  Burgess,  “are  excavated  in 
the  face  of  a hill,  or  rather  the  scarp  of  a large 
plateau,  and  run  nearly  North  and  South  for  about 
one  and  a quarter  miles.  The  scarp  at  each  end 
of  this  interval  throws  out  a horn  toward  the  West. 
It  is  where  the  scarp  at  the  South  end  begins  to  turn 
to  the  West  that  the  earliest  caves — a group  of 
Buddhistic  ones — are  situated;  and  in  the  North 
horn  is  the  Indra  Sabha  or  Jain  group,  at  the  other 
extremity  of  the  series.  The  ascent  of  the  ghat 
passes  up  the  South  side  of  Kailas,  the  third  temple 
of  the  Brahmanica]  group,  and  over  the  roof  of  the 
Das  Avatar,  the  second  of  them.  Sixteen  caves  lie 
to  the  South  of  Kailas,  and  nearly  as  many  to  the 
North,  but  the  latter  are  scattered  over  a greater 
distance.” 

After  a very  early  chota  hazri  we  walked  down 
the  path  of  the  sloping  rocky  hill,  into  and  out  of 
which  the  temples  are  cut,  and  began  our  tour  of 
inspection  at  the  oldest  on  the  Buddhist  end  of  the 
series.  It  being  the  season  for  one  of  the  Muham- 
madan festivals  following  the  close  of  the  fast  of 
Ramadan,  we  were  not  so  much  annoyed  as  is  usually 
the  case  with  professional,  sturdy  beggars.  Even 
the  man  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  who  collects  fees  from 


208  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

all  the  visitors  in  the  name  of  the  Nizam  of  Hyder- 
abad was  at  first  off  duty  attending  the  festival;  but 
the  bruit  of  our  presence  reached  him  in  good  time 
and  he  appeared  with  his  visitor’s  book  later  in  the 
day. 

As  has  already  been  said,  these  monkish  cells  and 
temples  hewn  out  of  the  rock  in  the  sloping  side  of 
this  cliff  extend  a full  mile  and  a quarter  from  South 
to  North,  and  with  their  chronological  relation  cor- 
responding in  the  main  to  their  locality,  in  the  order 
of  Buddhist,  Hindu,  and  Jain.  Of  the  Buddhist 
series  the  cave  which  bears  the  name  Dherwara  is 
the  oldest  and  one  of  the  most  important ; one  other, 
the  Vishwakarma  or  “Carpenter’s  Cave,”  is  a paral- 
lelogram about  85  feet  long,  with  a ribbed  roof ; and 
a third,  the  Tin  Tai,  is  three  stories  in  height.  To 
me  the  most  interesting  thing  in  these  oldest  of  the 
Buddhistic  caves  was  the  posture  of  the  effigies  of 
Buddha.  He  is  not  represented  as  seated  in  his  cus- 
tomary posture  but  with  both  legs  hanging  down 
from  the  chair. 

Of  the  Hindu  series  the  most  noteworthy,  and  in- 
deed the  most  wonderful  of  all  rock-temples,  or  even 
of  architectural  remains,  in  all  India,  is  Kailas, — a 
structure  at  the  sight  of  which  one’s  amazement 
grows  with  every  moment  spent  in  its  inspection.  “It 
is  not  a mere  interior  chamber  cut  in  the  rock,”  says 
Mr.  Fergusson,  “but  is  a model  of  a complete  temple 
such  as  might  have  been  erected  on  the  plain.  In 


MOST  WONDERFUL  OF  ALL  ROCK-TEMPLES 


The  Caves  of  EUora 


209 


other  words,  the  rock  has  been  cut  away  externally 
as  well  as  internally.”  Kailas  is,  then,  an  enormous 
monolith,  a huge  temple  completely  isolated  from  the 
surrounding  rock  of  the  hillside,  itself  made  out  of 
one  unbroken  piece  of  stone.  From  the  solid  rock 
surrounding  this  monolithic  temple  an  enormous 
court  has  been  excavated  for  it,  which  averages  154 
ft.  wide  at  the  base,  and  is  276  ft.  long  at  the  level 
of  the  base,  and  with  a scarp  at  the  back  107  ft. 
high.  On  the  outside  of  the  curtain  of  rock  which 
has  been  left  in  front  of  this  court,  are  carved  mon- 
strous forms  of  Shiva  and  Vishnu  and  other  Hindu 
gods ; and  several  rooms  are  excavated  inside  its 
thickness.  This  rock-screen  is  pierced  in  the  center 
by  a passage  which  also  has  rooms  excavated  on 
either  hand.  The  front  portion  of  the  court  is  some- 
what lower  than  the  main  part;  it  has,  however,  two 
gigantic  elephants  cut  out  of  the  rock  on  the  North 
and  South  sides.  Ascending  a few  steps  we  enter 
the  great  hall  of  the  temple,  in  front  of  which  and 
connected  with  it  by  a bridge  is  a sheltered  shrine 
for  the  sacred  bull  of  Shiva,  on  either  side  of  which 
stands  a pillar  of  stone  45  ft.  in  height.  Along  the 
North  side  and  rear  of  the  court  runs  a series  of 
excavations  in  two  tiers  with  beautifully  sculptured 
pillars.  The  outside  as  well  as  inside  of  this  temple 
is  profusely  decorated  with  sculptures  cut  out  of 
the  huge  monolith,  or  left  as  partly  undercut  pieces 
of  the  rocky  hillside ; and  much  of  it  shows  signs  of 


210  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  m India 

having  originally  been  gaily  painted.  The  Kailas 
is  said  to  have  been  excavated  about  the  eighth  cen- 
tury by  Raja  Edu,  who  founded  the  town  of  Ellora, 
as  a thank-offering  for  a cure  effected  by  the  waters 
of  a spring  near  the  place.  It  is  dedicated  to  Shiva. 

We  had  our  breakfast  that  memorable  morning 
sitting  on  the  ground  in  the  court  of  Kailas,  or  on 
the  steps  leading  up  to  the  temple.  This  finished,  wre 
made  a more  rapid  survey  of  such  of  the  other  rock- 
temples  as  were  most  accessible,  comprising  some  of 
the  finest  of  the  Jain  temples  at  the  extreme  North 
end  of  the  series.  But  the  heat  of  the  noontime 
sun  became  so  overpowering  that  the  rest  of  our 
tour  of  inspection  was  only  very  superficial.  We 
reached  the  bungalow  at  the  top  of  the  hill  pretty 
well  spent,  rested  until  2 :30,  then  had  a hasty  lunch- 
eon and  took  the  tonga  for  the  return  journey  to 
the  station  at  Daulatabad. 

The  bullocks  were  much  fresher  than  they  had 
been  the  day  before;  the  daylight  enabled  us  to  take 
an  interest  in  the  things  by  the  wayside;  and  so  the 
return-trip  was  really  shorter,  and  seemed  much 
shorter  still,  though  in  one  way  not  so  impressive  as 
had  been  the  journey  of  the  night  before,  without 
guidance,  over  a trackless  plain,  in  a darkness  re- 
lieved only  by  the  light  of  a single  candle  in  a lan- 
tern. The  fatigue  and  monotony  of  riding  in  a bul- 
lock-cart without  springs  were  broken  by  two  stops ; 
one  at  the  tomb  of  Aurangzeb  where  is  enshrined 


The  Caves  of  Ellora 


211 


part  of  the  heart  of  this  rascal,  who  probably  did 
more  than  any  one  else  by  his  base  conduct  to  weaken 
and  bring  to  a condition  of  decline  the  Empire 
founded  by  Akbar.  Here  we  encountered  a larger 
than  usual  crowd  of  sturdy  beggars.  The  wheels  of 
our  friends  easily  escaped  these  nuisances ; but  the 
beggars  had  no  difficulty  in  keeping  up  with  the  bul- 
locks and  the  tonga.  One  big,  well-fed  lout  of  a 
fellow  followed  us  for  more  than  a half  mile  begging 
for  a dole  and  eying  us  with  threatening  in  his  coun- 
tenance. With  him  it  was  easier  than  usual  to 
harden  one’s  heart  against  the  monotonous  whine  of 
“Sahib,  backshish ; Sahib,  backshish.” 

The  two  cyclists  went  ahead  and,  in  spite  of  the 
denials  of  the  guards,  obtained  official  permission  for 
us  to  pay  a flying  visit  to  the  fortress  of  Daulatabad. 
This  fortress,  like  its  neighboring  temple  of  Kailas, 
is  by  way  of  a structure  of  solid  rock,  one  of  the 
wonders  of  the  world.  Out  of  the  plain  rises  to  the 
height  of  500-600  ft.  a huge  conical  rock  of  granite ; 
and  the  sides  of  this  have  been  scarped  perpendicu- 
larly to  the  extent  of  from  80  to  120  ft.  all  around 
the  base.  Of  the  once  populous  and  fortified  city, 
there  now  remain  only  a few  mean  houses  and  huts, 
for  the  most  part  confined  to  the  side  of  the  rock 
nearest  the  road.  At  the  bottom  of  the  scarp  is  a 
ditch,  before  reaching  which  four  lines  of  wall,  in- 
cluding the  outside  wall  of  the  city,  had  to  be  taken, 
and  which  when  reached,  could  be  crossed  only  by  a 


212  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

stone  causeway  so  narrow  that  it  admitted  only  two 
men  abreast.  The  sole  means  of  reaching  the  top 
of  the  rock,  where  the  palace  and  mosque  and  other 
princely  buildings  were  situated,  with  the  garrison 
and  the  munitions  and  stores  which  they  required 
in  case  of  attack,  was  through  a narrow  passage 
hewn  in  the  solid  stone.  This  passage  is  totally 
dark  and  winds  around  in  the  interior  of  the  rock- 
fortress  ; and  while  at  first  it  is  high  enough  to  allow 
one  to  stand  erect,  it  becomes  about  half-way  to 
where  it  comes  out  into  the  open,  a steep  stair,  so 
low  that  one  must  crouch  and  so  narrow  that  even 
a warrior  ascending  in  single  file  could  not  draw  his 
sword.  To  increase  the  unpleasant  features  of  fight- 
ing one’s  way  up  this  gallery,  an  iron  grating  was 
spread  over  the  top  of  it  in  one  place ; and  on  this 
grating  a huge  fire  could  be  kindled  and  kept  up, 
fiercely  burning,  by  the  garrison  above.  While  hu- 
miliating ourselves  to  reach  the  upper  end  of  this 
passage,  we  could  cherish  the  satisfaction  of  know- 
ing that  his  Royal  Highness,  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
and  all  the  gaily  dressed  foreign  and  native  ladies, 
and  all  the  servants  and  the  silver  and  the  viands,  in 
order  to  reach  the  palace  on  the  top,  had  to  go  by 
the  same  painful  and  humbling  route,  when  the  Nizam 
of  Hyderabad  a few  years  before  had  entertained  his 
distinguished  foreign  guests  in  this  unconventional 
place.  In  spite  of  its  seemingly  impregnable  char- 
acter under  all  ancient  and  mediaeval  means  of  at- 


The  Caves  of  Ellora 


213 


tack,  the  fortress  of  Daulatabad  has  several  times 
passed  between  Hindu  and  Muhammadan  hands. 

When  we  arrived  at  the  station  we  bade  good-bye 
to  our  friends  who  were  intending  to  bicycle  home 
in  the  long  moonlit  night,  and  settled  ourselves  to 
waiting  for  the  train  which  was  expected  to  land  us 
not  very  late  at  night  at  the  Junction,  where  it  was 
arranged  that  the  early  morning-express  should  pick 
up  the  car  in  which  we  were  to  lodge  and  take  us  on 
to  Ahmednagar.  We  had  no  success  in  getting  any 
supper,  not  to  say  dinner,  at  the  station  of  Daulata- 
bad. For  although  the  station-master  showed  his 
willingness  by  opening  the  only  storehouse  of  any 
kind  of  food  the  station  contained, — a tin  of  biscuit, 
— the  amount  of  other  life  being  already  in  the  way 
of  appropriating  the  contents  made  us  resolve  that 
our  own  lives  were  not  as  yet  in  such  immediate  or 
prospective  danger  as  to  force  us  to  share  with  the 
worms  the  remnants  of  the  infested  biscuit.  Besides, 
we  were  assured  that  we  should  arrive  at  Munmar 
Junction  before  the  station  would  be  closed  for  the 
night  and  so  in  time  for  a hot  supper.  But  this  was 
not  to  be.  For  when  our  car,  which  was  late  in  ar- 
riving at  Daulatabad,  had  jogged  along  at  the  rate 
of  ten  miles  an  hour  and  we  had  reached  the  Junc- 
tion only  after  midnight,  we  found  the  station  dark 
and  closed,  the  station-master  afield  somewhere  in 
the  large  yard,  and  no  one  on  hand  who  knew  any- 
thing about  the  arrangements  which  had  been  made 


21 4)  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

for  our  accommodation.  We  did,  however,  find  a 
boy  who  undertook  to  guide  us  down  the  yard  with 
a lantern,  in  the  hope  that  we  might  discover  for  our- 
selves the  car  in  which  to  find  shelter  for  the  re- 
mainder of  the  night.  The  walk  was  gloomy  and 
even  threatening  enough ; for  it  was  between  tracks 
and  in  a yard  where  the  shunting  of  trains  and  single 
cars  was  constantly  going  on.  Arrived  at  the  spot 
where  some  empty  passenger  cars  were  standing,  the 
boy  then  for  the  first  time — native  fashion— con- 
fessed that  he  did  not  at  all  know  which  of  the  cars 
had  been  allotted  to  us.  He  went  to  inquire,  leav- 
ing us  in  the  dark  and  with  no  very  sure  prospect  of 
any  shelter,  not  to  say,  “lying-down  room,”  for  the 
entire  night.  When  he  did  return  to  identify  the 
car  belonging  to  the  right  train,  it  was  discovered 
that  the  door  next  to  us  was  locked  and  our  guide 
had  forgotten  to  bring  the  key.  But  we  clambered 
over  between  cars  and  got  in  by  the  other  door, — 
only  to  find  that  no  light  could  be  had  until  a mes- 
senger had  been  sent  for  a key  to  turn  on  the  gas. 
At  last,  however,  we  could  lie  down  in  our  clothes  on 
the  seats,  take  turn  and  turn  about,  trying  to  nap  it 
and  standing  guard ; but  were  prevented  from  sleep- 
ing much  even  when  the  turn  came,  by  the  hubbub 
of  a busy  railway-yard  around  us  on  every  side, — 
until  the  time  (6  A.  M.)  came  for  the  morning 
through-express.  Alas ! we  were  again  disappointed 
in  obtaining  the  coveted  morsels  of  food,  for  which 


The  Caves  of  EUora 


215 


we  were  getting  more  and  more  hungry.  For  instead 
of  picking  us  up  before  breakfast  and  running  us  up 
to  the  station,  where  we  could  get  a meal  with  the 
other  passengers,  they  picked  us  up  after  the  stop 
for  breakfast  for  the  other  passengers  had  been 
made,  and  carried  us  off  without  any  breakfast. 
Since  we  were  now  passing  through  “famine  coun- 
try,” in  the  strictest  and  most  terrific  sense  of  the 
words,  it  wTas  impossible  by  the  way  to  procure  any- 
thing to  eat  ( sic ) but  a cup  of  tea  without  sugar  or 
milk  and  a couple  of  shriveled  oranges.  There  were 
more  reasons  than  one,  then,  why  we  were  glad  to 
reach  Ahmednagar,  although  not  at  all  regretful  that 
we  had  seen  Daulatabad  and  the  Caves  of  Ellora,  or 
even  that  we  had  been  brought  into  a condition  of 
keener  sympathy  with  the  famine  sufferers  by  going 
some  thirty-odd  hours  without  food,  in  the  heat  and 
dust  of  the  Deccan. 


CHAPTER  X 


AN  OASIS  IN  THE  DESERT 


HMEDNAGAR  is  the  third  city  in  size  in  the 


Deccan,  having  at  the  time  of  our  visit  some- 
what more  than  40,000  inhabitants ; and  although  it 
has  little  or  nothing  in  the  way  of  architecture  or 
other  interesting  objects  to  attract  the  foreign  vis- 
itor, it  is  not  without  considerable  historical  interest. 
It  was  founded  at  the  very  close  of  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury by  Ahmad  Nizam  Shah  Bahri,  on  the  site  of  a 
more  ancient  city,  Bhingar.  The  Portuguese  pirates, 
who  then  ravaged  a large  part  of  the  West  Coast  of 
India,  for  many  years  maintained  friendly  relations 
wdth  Ahmednagar,  so  that  they  did  not  interfere 
with  the  extension  of  its  ruler’s  power  over  a large 
surrounding  territory,  or  with  the  growing  prosper- 
ity of  the  city.  But  it  fell  into  Akbar’s  hands  in 
1605,  as  the  result  of  a celebrated  siege  in  which 
figured  Chand  Bibi,  the  widow  of  Ali  Adil  Shah, 
whose  story  has  been  told  in  an  English  novel  by 
Meadows  Taylor,  with  the  title  “The  Noble  Queen.” 
From  this  time  on  the  city  and  territory  of  Ahmed- 
nagar was  a possession  contested  by  the  Moslems, 


216 


An  Oasis  in  the  Desert 


217 


the  Mahrattas,  and  the  British,  until  the  latter  cap- 
tured it  under  General  Wellesley,  afterwards  Duke 
of  Wellington,  on  the  12th  of  August,  1808.  A 
tamarind  tree  under  which  the  Duke  is  said  to  have 
taken  his  luncheon,  is  still  pointed  out  on  the  South- 
west side  of  the  Fort.  Although  Ahmednagar  was 
afterward  for  a short  time  restored  to  the  Mahrat- 
tas, it  came  finally  into  the  possession  of  the  British 
in  1817,  since  which  time  it  has  enjoyed  such  pros- 
perity as  the  firm  maintenance  of  order  and  respect 
for  public  justice  can  bestow. 

This  part  of  the  Deccan  is  at  best  “a  dry  and 
thirsty  land,”  the  entire  District  being  described  as 
“a  comparatively  barren  tract  with  a small  rainfall” ; 
and  although  the  city  is  situated  on  a so-called  river, 
the  signs  of  universal  distress  from  scarcity  of  water- 
supply  were  more  obvious  at  Ahmednagar  than  at 
any  other  point  which  we  visited  during  the  winter. 
Just  outside  the  city  was  a “famine-relief  camp,” 
where  9,000  human  beings  who  could  only  be  fitly 
described  as  scarcely  “living  skeletons,”  were  col- 
lected for  being  fed  sufficiently  to  keep  them  from  a 
speedier  death  by  starvation.  Of  these  7,000  were 
doing  some  work — for  the  most  part  by  carrying 
small  baskets  of  earth  upon  their  heads — at  building 
the  embankments  of  an  artificial  lake  which  was  to 
hold  a three-year  supply  of  water  from  the  river 
Siva,  on  whose  left  bank  the  city  stands,  which  could 
be  stored  in  the  seasons  when  the  rains  did  their  duty 


218  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  m India 

by  way  of  supplying  the  river.  The  workmen  and 
workwomen  were  housed  in  tents  of  straw  open  at 
both  ends ; but  about  2,000  children  and  sick  and 
feeble  ones,  quite  unable  to  do  any  work,  were  cared 
for  in  a separate  enclosure.  The  wages  earned  by 
those  at  work  were,  for  the  men  from  1-8  to  2 annas, 
and  for  the  women  and  children,  1 anna,  3 pies  per 
day.  But  only  the  week  before,  our  hosts,  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Robert  Hume,  had  received  from  the  United 
States  nearly  £7,000 ; and  they  will  spend  as  much 
of  this  large  sum  as  possible  according  to  the  same 
wise  plan  of  helping  those  who  can,  among  the  starv- 
ing people,  still  try  to  help  themselves.  It  is  the 
native  character  of  the  millions  of  India,  with  the 
exception  of  some  of  the  Northern  races  and  the 
comparatively  few  who,  with  the  adoption  of  the 
Christian  faith,  have  taken  to  themselves,  together 
with  reliance  on  God,  its  spirit  of  self-reliance,  to 
lean  heavily  and  even  unscrupulously  on  any  arm  ex- 
tended with  the  offer  of  assistance. 

That  sad  winter  the  city  and  district  of  Ahmedna- 
gar  had  their  full  share  of  that  other  terror  which 
was  wasting  the  whole  of  that  part  of  India, — the 
bubonic  plague.  As  we  drove  back  from  our  visit  to 
the  famine  camp  through  the  native  city,  the  marks 
of  its  devastations  were  everywhere  evident.  The 
Autumn  before  the  death-rate  from  plague  had 
reached  no  fewer  than  seventy  a day.  But  although 
Ahmednagar  has  a native  population  of  1,000  or 


An  Oasis  in  the  Desert 


219 


more  Christian  converts  openly  connected  with  its 
Christian  institutions,  only  two  of  this  number  had 
died  of  plague.  The  principal  real  causes  of  their  es- 
cape were  undoubtedly  these  three:  innoculation 
against  the  plague,  while  refused  by  the  Hindus  on 
grounds  of  superstition,  had  been  accepted  by  the  na- 
tive Christians  under  the  influence  and  example  of  the 
missionaries ; cleanliness  of  their  persons,  their 
homes,  and  their  habits  had  already  been  in  their 
lives  substituted  for  heathenish  filth,  physical  and 
moral ; and  their  faith  in  God  and  in  their  foreign 
friends  had  kept  them  from  all  panic  and  had  made 
them  willing  to  obey  orders  and  to  follow  good  ex- 
amples. All  this,  as  a matter  of  course,  was  at- 
tributed by  the  more  ignorant  of  their  Hindu  fellow 
townsmen,  either  to  the  goodness  and  power  of  the 
gods  the  Christians  worshipped,  or  to  the  favoring 
craft  of  their  protecting  demons. 

It  was  an  inexpressible  comfort  to  be  again,  after 
so  long  an  interval,  with  home-friends  and  in  a home 
modelled  after  the  familiar  New  England  type.  A 
hot  bath,  and  food  and  rest,  a pleasant  drive  over 
the  cantonment,  and  a good  bed  for  the  night,  did 
much  for  the  heartening  of  us  both.  I had,  how- 
ever, contracted  a very  severe  and  persistent  influ- 
enza, and  a threatening  of  the  recurrence  of  inter- 
mittent fever, — evil  companions  which  could  not  be 
shaken  off  during  our  stay  in  that  climate  and  which 
threatened  to  wreck,  but  did  not  quite  succeed  in 


220  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

wrecking,  all  my  plans  for  usefulness  in  Southern 
India  and  Ceylon. 

The  remainder  of  our  altogether  too  brief  stay  in 
Ahmednagar  was  almost  exclusively  spent  in  getting 
acquainted  with  the  work  of  the  Christian  Missions 
established  there.  And  since  this  work  seemed  to  be, 
on  the  whole,  the  most  practically  wise,  effective 
among  all  classes,  and  organized  in  a thoroughly 
business-like  way,  with  which  we  came  into  close  con- 
tact anywhere,  it  may  fitly  serve  as  the  occasion  for 
one  or  two  observations  on  missionary  work  in  gen- 
eral, throughout  India. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  and  hopeful  of  the 
institutions  of  missionary  enterprise  on  its  side  of 
active  evangelizing  was  the  “Second  Church  of 
Christ”  in  Ahmednagar,  which  is  composed  of  con- 
verted low-caste  Hindus ; and  which  from  the  first 
has  refused  to  receive  any  assistance  from  the  out- 
side, but  has  manfully  and  successfully  struggled  to 
sustain  itself.  As  throwing  light  upon  the  work 
among  the  Brahmans  I prized  highly  a long  con- 
versation with  a Mr.  N.  V.  Tilak,  himself  a con- 
verted Brahman,  in  which  he  gave  me  a most  intelli- 
gent and  sensible  account  of  the  present  condition 
of  Brahmanism  among  the  Mahrattas.  While  still  a 
Brahman,  Mr.  Tilak  had  reflected  carefully,  and  had 
observed  as  widely  as  his  condition  afforded  oppor- 
tunity, with  a view  to  discover  elsewhere,  or  to  de- 
vise for  himself,  some  such  reformed  religion  as 


An  Oasis  m the  Desert 


221 


should  lift  up  his  own  people  from  their  low  estate. 
How  low  this  estate  had  become,  intellectually,  so- 
cially and  morally,  my  informant  discussed  writh  con- 
siderable detail.  The  picture  he  drew  of  the  Brah- 
mans, both  high-caste  and  low-caste,  was  not  flatter- 
ing; but  then  it  was  no  more  damaging  to  Brah- 
manical  character  and  its  pride  of  caste  than  had 
been  the  picture  drawn  by  the  ascetic  Raja  of 
Benares.  And  Mr.  Tilak’s  estimate  of  the  social  and 
family  life  of  the  Hindus  was  no  lower  than  that 
which  I had  heard  in  Bombay  from  the  lips  of  their 
sincere  and  well-informed  Parsee  friend,  Mr.  Mala- 
bari,  or  from  the  converted  but  sensible  and  sincere 
Brahman  in  Calcutta,  Mr.  Kali  Banurji. 

As  a result  of  his  meditations  and  observations 
Mr.  Tilak  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  Chris- 
tianity, as  contrasted  with  Hinduism,  even  in  the 
latter’s  most  attractive  speculative  form  and  as  held 
by  the  most  thoughtful  and  moral  of  the  high-caste 
Brahmans,  commended  itself  especially  in  these  three 
particulars:  First  and  most  important  and  funda- 

mental of  all,  in  respect  of  its  clear  and  elevated  and 
morally  inspiring  conception  of  God.  I have  already 
said  that  I have  seldom  or  never  met  a thinker  whose 
views  on  theology,  in  the  narrowest  meaning  of  that 
term  (as  doctrine  of  the  divine  attributes  and  divine 
relations  to  man)  corresponded  more  nearly  to  my 
own,  than  those  of  Professor  Bhandarkar  of  Bom- 
bay. But  Professor  Bhandarkar’s  views  did  not 


222  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

merely  resemble  in  the  most  important  ways  the 
views  of  modern  religious  philosophy ; they  were  sub- 
stantially those  views,  and  though  views  of  a Brah- 
man— or  at  least,  of  a thinker  who  had  not  declared 
himself  a convert  to  Christian  thought — none  the 
less  Christian  monotheistic  views,  and  not  Brahman- 
ical  views  at  all.  It  is  not  to  be  denied,  however, 
that  all  through  the  centuries  of  the  development  of 
Brahmanical  philosophy  there  have  been  occasional 
thinkers  who  have  in  their  conception  of  God  come 
so  close  to  Christian  monotheism  as  to  make  it  some- 
what difficult  to  distinguish  between  the  two.  But 
these  views,  if  they  really  have  their  origin  in  Brah- 
manical  philosophy,  almost  always  break  down  and 
lose  their  seemingly  “clear  and  elevated  and  morally 
inspiring”  character  when  they  come  to  be  tested  by 
comparison  with  the  Christian  conception  of  personal 
life. 

Mr.  Tilak  went  on  to  mention,  as  the  second  great 
distinction  between  the  higher  Brahmanism  and 
Christianity,  the  value  which  the  latter  sets  on  hu- 
man personality,  and  the  help  which  it  renders  in 
realizing  the  ideal  of  manhood.  And,  indeed,  as  we 
have  already  pointed  out,  it  is  a defective  and 
morally  misleading  failure  to  conceive  of  God  as 
perfect  Ethical  Spirit  and  Source  of  all  personal 
righteousness,  which  constitutes  the  fundamental 
weakness  of  Brahmanical,  and  indeed,  in  general  of 
Oriental  religious  philosophy.  This  failure  has  its 


An  Oasis  in  the  Desert 


223 


inevitable  effect  in  the  undervaluation  of  the  human 
person, — an  effect  which  operates  powerfully  in 
shaping  the  constitution  of  civil  government  and  the 
character  of  all  the  principal  social  relations.  The 
individual  human  being  does  not  count  for  much; 
because  he  is  not  regarded  as  intrinsically  capable 
of  developing  that  type  of  life,  the  personal  life, 
which  sums  up  within  itself  all  that  is  of  real  value. 
In  religion,  the  inspiring  ideal  of  human  personal  life 
is  to  have  it  patterned  after  the  Divine  Life,  the 
ideal  of  perfect  Ethical  Spirit,  the  struggle  to  at- 
tain, not  a loss  of  the  Self,  or  person,  by  absorption 
into  God,  but  a moral  likeness  of  the  self-conscious, 
voluntary  human  personality  to  the  perfect  personal 
life  of  God. 

The  transition,  so  logically  made  by  reflective 
thought,  from  a higher  conception  of  the  Divine 
Being  to  a more  spiritual  view  of  man’s  relations  to 
that  Being,  was  clearly  apprehended  by  this  con- 
verted Brahman.  The  second  great  superiority  of 
Christianity  to  Brahmanism  consisted  in  its  im- 
proved doctrine  of  the  Way  of  Salvation.  Chris- 
tianity conceived  of  sin  as  an  ethical  affair  and  as 
implying  guilt  which  attached  itself  to  the  personal 
life  of  the  sinner,  and  was  indeed  a manifestation  of 
the  character  of  that  life ; and  it  conceived  of  salva- 
tion as  a moral  and  spiritual  redemption  of  that 
guilty  personal  life.  But  Brahmanism  regards  sin 
as  only  the  opposite  of  merit,  and  salvation  as  a 


224  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

ceremonial  affair  which,  when  complete,  effects  the 
extinction  of  selfhood  by  absorption  into  Deity. 

Interesting,  however,  as  was  this  exposition  of  the 
superiority,  on  grounds  of  reflective  thinking,  or  as 
a matter  of  religious  philosophy,  of  Christianity  to 
the  best  of  Brahmanical  doctrine,  from  one  who  had 
left  the  latter  to  espouse  the  former,  largely  in  view 
of  the  necessity  for  mental  satisfaction ; the  sight  of 
the  practical  results  attained  by  the  missionary 
work  at  Ahmednagar  among  the  common  people  and 
low-caste  Brahmans  was  even  more  interesting. 
That  it  might  all  be  seen  in  the  short  time  of  our 
stop  in  the  city,  Dr.  Hume  had  prepared  a written 
program  to  which  we  adhered  quite  strictly. 

On  Sunday  morning,  after  the  conversation  just 
narrated,  visits  were  paid  to  the  Sunday-schools  of 
the  two  churches  of  the  mission  of  the  American 
Board.  The  school  of  the  First  Church  had  enrolled 
612  members ; it  was  supposed  to  be  the  largest  na- 
tive school  of  this  sort  in  all  India.  Nearly  all  those 
enrolled  are  in  attendance  every  Sunday ; and  there 
were  all  the  signs  of  order,  industry,  attentiveness 
and  genuine  interest,  which  could  be  discovered  in 
the  best  conducted  of  such  gatherings  in  this  coun- 
try. The  enrollment  of  the  Sunday-school  of  the 
Second  Church  which,  as  has  already  been  said,  is 
composed  of  low-caste  Brahmans  and  is  wholly  self- 
supporting,  was  at  that  time  125  members.  The 
communicants  in  the  First  Church  numbered  378; 


An  Oasis  in  the  Desert 


225 


the  congregation  was  somewhat  over  700,  besides 
about  160  at  the  children’s  service.  At  5 P.  M. 
I spoke  to  an  audience  of  more  than  700,  including 
a dozen  or  more  Hindus — some  of  them  Brahmans — 
on  “The  Essentials  of  Christianity.”  Nowhere  else 
in  India  did  I see  such  a native  Christian  congrega- 
tion, or  such  evidences  of  vigorous  native  Christian 
life. 

On  Monday  morning  we  started  out  in  good  sea- 
son to  inspect  the  school  and  other  missionary  in- 
stitutions of  Ahmednagar.  The  Theological  Sem- 
inary was  first  visited,  where  21  bright  and  earnest 
young  men  were  in  training  for  the  native  ministry. 
We  next  went  to  the  High  School  and  then  to  the 
Industrial  School,  taking  its  three  sections  in  the 
order  of  carpentry,  copper-beating,  and  rug-weav- 
ing. In  the  first  of  these  sections  20  boys  were  re- 
ceiving instruction  in  the  making  and  repair  of  farm- 
implements  and  vehicles,  and  other  of  the  common 
and  universally  demanded  forms  of  native  carpentry. 
In  the  next  section  13  pupils  were  being  taught  one 
of  the  oldest  and  most  distinctive  of  Indian  arts,  the 
art  of  beating  copper  into  the  forms  of  a great 
variety  of  useful  and  artistically  decorated  articles. 
But  in  the  third  section  a large  number,  no  fewer 
than  one  hundred  in  all — 60  boys  and  40  girls — 
were  receiving  expert  instruction  in  another  of  In- 
dia’s oldest  and  most  celebrated  arts, — the  art  of 
rug-making.  From  the  school  we  were  conducted  to 


226  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

the  factory  where  62  boys  and  28  girls,  graduates 
or  advanced  pupils  in  this  art,  were  engaged  in  its 
practice.  A Boston  firm  of  dealers  had  contracted 
to  take  from  this  factory  $100,000  worth  of  rugs 
annually,  if  so  many  could  be  made.  (It  should  be 
said  that  since  our  visit,  all  these  forms  of  industry 
have  been  greatly  extended  and  others  added,  as 
important  and  integral  parts  of  the  missionary  work 
at  Ahmednagar. ) 

The  inspection  of  the  industrial  side  of  the  train- 
ing given  to  the  natives  was  followed  by  a return  to 
the  other  sides  of  education.  This  included  visits  to 
the  good-caste  Hindu  Girls’  Day-School,  where  54 
pupils  of  this  class  were  being  taught ; and  later,  to 
the  low-caste  Hindu  Girls’  Day-School,  with  its  65 
pupils ; to  the  Christian  Girls’  Boarding-School, 
which  had  at  the  time  157  boarding  pupils  and  118 
day  pupils;  to  the  Bible  Women’s  Training  School, 
where  20  selected  and  mature  native  women  were 
being  trained  as  professional  Bible-readers,  so  as  to 
be  fitted  for  access  to  Hindu  Zenana  women,  espe- 
cially those  of  the  higher  caste;  to  the  Normal 
School,  which  had  76  in  its  Normal  Department  and 
164  in  its  “model  school,”  all  of  whom  were  being 
fitted  to  take  charge  of  common-schools  in  the  coun- 
try districts — a form  of  education  hitherto  most 
neglected  but,  perhaps,  of  all  others  most  important 
for  the  economic,  moral  and  religious  welfare  of  the 
millions  of  India ; and,  finally,  to  the  Christian  Boys’ 


An  Oasis  in  the  Desert 


227 


Dormitory,  which  was  housing  90  native  youths  in 
different  stages  of  a Christian  education.  Besides 
all  this,  there  was  to  be  seen— though,  of  course,  only 
in  the  most  cursory  way— the  Mission  Dispensary, 
the  Mission  Book-Depot,  where  in  1899,  besides 
those  judiciously  given  away,  there  had  been  sold 
Rs.  1683  of  Bibles  and  other  Christian  books ; the 
Brahman  Gentleman’s  House;  and  the  Chapin  Home 
for  Women,  under  whose  roof  11  women  and  7 or- 
phan and  friendless  children  were  being  cai’ed  for 
and  instructed. 

That  Mrs.  Ladd  might  see  the  Zenana  work  among 
high-caste  Hindu  women,  a visit  had  been  arranged 
for  her  to  a private  house  where  such  work  was  go- 
ing on ; but,  of  course,  to  accompany  her  was  totally 
tabued  for  any  foreign  man.  I had  my  compensa- 
tion, however,  in  being  shown  with  an  unexampled 
freedom  the  entire  establishment  of  a middle-caste 
Hindu  gentleman.  The  thoroughness  of  inspection 
permitted  on  this  visit  may  be  appreciated  when  it  is 
understood  that  all  the  rooms,  including  those  where 
the  food  was  prepared,  and  even  his  wife’s  bed- 
chamber, wyere  thrown  open.  With  much  pride  and 
perfect  naivete  the  owner  displayed  his  gods,  then 
drew  the  sliding-door  in  front  of  a narrow  closet,  on 
a shelf  in  which  sat  a Brahman  in  the  customary 
attitude  though  not  in  the  very  act  of  worship.  My 
host  then  explained  that  this  priest  was  employed  by 
him  to  come  to  the  house  and  pray  every  morning 


228  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

from  seven  to  ten  o’clock.  He  was  then,  after  hav- 
ing worshipped  the  sacred  fire,  given  his  breakfast 
with  the  family.  “Leave  of  absence”  was  then  al- 
lowed until  the  evening,  when  he  was  under  contract 
to  return  and  go  through  the  appropriate  cere- 
monies. “Thus,”  said  the  master  of  the  house,  “I  em- 
ploy and  pay  him  to  take  entire  charge  of  the  religion 
of  my  family.”  The  employee  grinned  acquiescently 
at  this  singular  explanation  in  regard  to  the  under- 
stood relations  of  the  two.  Whether  the  grin  was 
discreditable,  or  otherwise,  as  compared  to  the  feel- 
ing which  the  hired  employee  to  do  some  one  else’s 
religion  for  him  at  a stipulated  price  and  definitely 
fixed  time  would  have  expressed  over  an  equally  frank 
disclosure  of  the  existing  relations  in  this  Christian 
land,  I leave  it  to  the  reader  to  conjecture. 

A garden-party  given  to  us  by  the  native  Chris- 
tians was  appointed  for  five  o’clock  of  the  same 
afternoon.  This  had  been  entirely  arranged  by 
themselves  and  under  the  superintendence  of  no 
fewer  than  thirteen  different  committees.  Perhaps, 
of  all  the  things  we  saw  at  Ahmednagar  to  illustrate 
the  benefits  to  India  that  might  come  from  the  trans- 
forming influences  of  a Christianity  that  took  hold 
on  all  sides  of  human  life,  this,  when  one  succeeded 
in  realizing  its  full  significance,  was  the  most  con- 
vincing. The  English  magistrate  and  his  wife,  and 
a number  of  missionary  ladies  connected  with  the 
Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel, — includ- 


An  Oasis  m the  Desert 


229 


ing  Miss  Chubb,  a graduate  of  Girton  College, — 
were  present  as  guests  of  the  native  Christians.  The 
latter  numbered  nearly  one  thousand ; and  taken  to- 
gether, they  seemed  quite  the  most  healthily  happy 
gathering  of  natives  which  I saw  in  all  India.  Both 
boys  and  girls  were  playing  native  games, — the  girls 
with  all  the  modest  freedom  of  movement  and  inno- 
cent joy  in  sport,  which  can  characterize  the  Eng- 
lish and  American  games  of  a generation  ago ; but 
which  seem  to  be  lacking  to  so  much  of  what,  in  both 
these  countries,  is  called  “sport”  in  the  present  gen- 
eration, with  its  craving  for  high-strung  sensuous 
excitement.  One  of  the  boys’  games  was  played  in 
a diagram  marked  out  on  the  ground  and  much  re- 
sembling in  every  way  the  game  of  hop-scotch.  To- 
gether with  their  native  games,  the  girls  by  them- 
selves played  drop-the-handkerchief.  During  the 
festival  we  were  once  more  crowned  with  garlands, 
as  we  had  been  the  verv  first  hour  of  our  landing;  in 
Bombay  by  the  native  Christian  young  people  there. 

At  dinner  that  day  we  met  all  the  missionaries  of 
the  American  board,  and  a few  from  other  mission- 
ary organizations.  Soon  after  the  break-up  at  ten 
o’clock  we  took  the  night  train  for  Madras;  as  far 
as  the  Junction  at  Dhond  our  accommodations  were 
good,  and  we  rested  comfortably.  But  when,  after 
a long  wait  at  the  Junction  the  train  from  Bombay 
arrived,  we  had  our  almost  unfailing  experience  with 
the  management  of  the  government  railways  in  India. 


230  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

In  spite  of  the  fact  of  Dr.  Hume’s  letter  to  the  traffic 
manager,  the  guard  claimed  to  know  nothing  of  any 
reservation  for  us.  He  seemed  inclined  to  pay  no 
attention  to  providing  the  accommodations  to  which 
our  tickets  entitled  us.  But  just  as  our  insistence 
had  won  from  him  the  offer  to  find  something  for  the 
lady  in  the  car  exclusively  reserved  for  women,  leav- 
ing me  to  sit  upright  for  the  night,  a young  fellow 
who  had  sprawled  over  an  entire  compartment  (the 
guard  knew  it  very  well)  offered  to  move  into  the 
compartment  where  an  acquaintance  of  his  was  in 
like  manner  sumptuously  provided.  Thus  accom- 
modated according  to  our  rights,  we  slept  so  soundly 
that  we  were  only  awakened  the  next  morning  by  a 
rapping  on  the  car-door,  which  announced  a friend 
sent  forth  to  meet  us,  say  “How  d’ye  do?”  and  bring 
us  fine  home-made  gingersnaps  for  our  chota  hazri. 

At  the  borders  of  the  Madras  Presidency  we  were 
forced  to  undergo  a most  thorough  plague  inspec- 
tion, which  was  repeated  a half-dozen  times  more 
before  we  were  discharged  at  the  city  station.  Be- 
cause our  tickets  read  from  the  Bombay  Presidency, 
which  was  at  that  time  very  propei’ly  considered 
“infected”  throughout,  they  were  cut,  and  we  wei'e 
obliged  to  take  out  a “plague  passport”  which  bound 
us  under  severe  penalties  to  appear  daily  for  ter 
days  at  the  Municipal  Office  and  get  the  proper  offi- 
cer’s certificate  of  continued  health. 

There  will  be  no  better  place  than  this  to  sum- 


An  Oasis  in  the  Desert 


231 


marize  briefly  the  impression  received  and  deepened 
by  every  observation  and  experience  regarding  the 
work  of  religious  reform  in  India.  I have  already 
said  that  the  natives  of  India,  including  all  the  Hindu 
castes  and  Hindu  races,  are — we  may  say  “by  na- 
ture,” since  we  know  no  other  better  way  of  express- 
ing so  original  and  fundamentally  mysterious  a fact 
- — more  religious  than  are  the  Teutonic  or  the  Latin 
races.  But  as  constituted  and  developed  at  the 
present  time,  it  is  doubtful  whether  they  have  either 
the  intellectual  or  the  moral  vigor  necessary  to  raise 
the  standard  of  their  religious  doctrine  or  of  the 
conduct  of  the  practical  life  of  religion,  without  help 
from  the  outside.  On  the  whole,  one’s  estimate  of 
the  Indian  native  character,  of  the  sound  and  effec- 
tive attainments  of  the  more  educated  natives,  of 
the  validity  and  the  value  of  the  Hindu  logic  and  the 
Hindu  philosophy,  and  of  the  best  outcome  of  the 
Hindu  religion,  as  well  as  of  the  condition,  socially, 
morally,  and  religiously  of  the  multitudes,  is  apt  to 
fall  rather  than  rise  with  every  week  of  added 
acquaintance  with  the  facts.  In  my  own  case,  I feel 
sure  this  experience  has  not  been  due  to  prejudice; 
for  the  initial  impulses  and  expectations  were  quite 
in  the  other  direction.  I have  been  treated  by  the 
native  leaders  with  quite  unusual  privileges,  trusted 
more  implicitly  than  it  was  fair  to  expect,  and  ac- 
corded distinguished  courtesy.  I have  met  many 
attractive  and  a few  really  noble  native  characters, 


232  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

who  were  not  the  product  of  imported  Christian  but, 
the  rather,  of  intrinsic  native  influences.  And  yet, 
in  general,  I do  not  believe  that  Hinduism,  whether 
orthodox  or  reformed,  whether  popular  or  esoteric, 
can  ever  raise  or  purify  the  native  life  of  India,  or 
even  supply  it  with  the  necessary  leaders  in  this 
work  of  uplifting  and  of  purification.  Hinduism  has 
not  the  true  and  life-giving  thoughts  about  God  and 
Man,  and  man’s  relations  to  God  and  to  his  fellows, 
which  are  required  for  so  tremendous  a task.  It  has 
not  the  courage  of  its  convictions,  or  the  intelligent 
devotion  to  ideals  that  are  at  the  same  time  high 
and  pure,  and  also  economically  and  socially  prac- 
ticable. 

But,  in  the  second  place,  the  present  educational 
system  in  vogue  in  India,  both  in  the  Government 
and  in  the  missionary  schools  and  colleges,  is  by  no 
means  the  most  economically  defensible  or  fruitful  of 
results.  That  a considerable  number  of  the  officials 
of  the  British  Government  in  India  had  come  to 
realize  this,  has  already  been  pointed  out;  unfortu- 
nately the  same  thing  did  not  seem  to  be  true  of  an 
equally  large  number  of  the  teachers  and  other  offi- 
cials in  the  missionary  schools.  To  attempt  to  give 
the  multitudes  of  the  youth  of  any  people  an  ad- 
vanced education,  in  a language,  literature,  and  by 
methods  and  text-books  quite  foreign  to  them,  must 
always  result  in  much  waste  and  failure.  Of  the 
different  experiments  in  this  sort  of  “benevolent 


An  Oasis  m the  Desert 


233 


assimilation,”  Japan  in  Korea  has  thus  far  best 
escaped  this  mistake;  but  British  India  is  still  suffer- 
ing from  it  to  no  small  degree. 

The  attempt,  then,  so  successfully  begun  at  Ah- 
mednagar,  and  now  so  much  farther  advanced  than 
it  was  at  the  time  of  our  visit,  to  train  the  natives 
to  lead  the  life  which  the  multitudes  of  the  converted 
must  live,  in  decent,  courageous,  self-reliant  indus- 
try, because  of  faith  in  God  and  love  of  God  and  of 
their  fellows,  is  as  choice  a gift  as  Christianity  can 
impart.  For,  consider  the  case  of  the  multitudes  of 
India  in  their  attitude  toward  the  foreign  and  im- 
parted religion  of  Christianity.  “Rice  Christians” 
by  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  the  lower  orders  of 
the  native  population  can  be  gathered  into  the  Chris- 
tian community,  in  any  time  of  famine.  But  if  you 
had  the  conscience  to  gather  them,  where  would  you 
find  the  rice  to  feed  them?  And  of  what  real  use 
would  it  be  to  count  their  heads  for  report  in  the 
home-missionary  periodical,  if  these  heads  could  not 
be  counted  upon  in  their  own  land  to  work  them- 
selves free  from  the  heathenish  superstitions  and 
filthy  moral  abominations  of  the  popular  Brahman- 
ism? It  is  also  quite  possible  to  attract  thousands 
of  good-caste  Hindus  into  your  colleges,  if  you  make 
the  way  into  and  through  them  easy,  and  are  suc- 
cessful in  getting  the  graduates  into  some  coveted 
government  position.  But  in  four  cases  out  of  five, 
unless  they,  too,  become  in  heart  and  life  followers 


234  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

of  the  spii’it  that  was  in  the  “carpenter’s  son,”  it  is 
better  for  your  Christian  college  that  these  babus 
should  not  have  its  imprimatur. 

And  now  consider  the  case  of  the  much  smaller 
number  -who  are  really,  and  more  or  less  intelligently, 
dissatisfied  with  Hinduism,  have  lost  faith  in  the 
Brahman,  and  are  willing  to  defy  him,  break  loose 
from  Hinduism,  and  face  the  consequences  of  becom- 
ing, in  heart  and  life  and  soul,  followers  of  the  re- 
ligion of  Jesus?  What  shall  be  done  with  and  for 
them?  This  is  a serious  question.  They  will  be 
outcasted.  What  that  means  for  the  poor,  no  one 
can  form  a picture  who  has  not  seen  the  phenomenon 
near  at  hand.  The  convert  cannot  expect  a morsel 
of  bread,  a word  of  comfort,  a bit  of  help,  from  any 
of  his  former  relatives  and  friends.  If  he  is  willing 
to  work,  no  one  will  give  him  work,  will  even  allow 
him  to  work.  If  he  is  a cook,  he  cannot  cook  for 
Hindus.  If  he  is  a blacksmith,  he  cannot  shoe  a 
Hindu’s  animal.  If  he  is  a wheelwright,  he  cannot 
mend  the  cart  of  a Hindu  farmer.  Life  is  incom- 
parably easy  for  the  Jew  who  is  cast  out  of  the  syna- 
gogue in  this  country — if,  indeed,  that  thing  is  ever 
done  to  those  who  have  means  of  self-support— com- 
pared with  the  Hindu  who  is  outcasted  in  India. 
This,  then,  is  where  such  Christian  work  of  industrial 
education  as  was  being  done  at  Ahmednagar  is 
needed  throughout  the  entire  continent  on  the  grand- 
est scale,  in  behalf  of  the  religious  reform  of  India. 


An  Oasis  in  the  Desert 


235 


When  some  man  of  what  we  count  wealth  in  America 
gives  several  millions  to  found  and  carry  to  self- 
support  a Christian  industrial  village  in  India,  we 
shall  have  a model  for  the  transforming  influences 
of  a practical  Christianity  operative  on  a continental 
scale. 

But  India  is  being  raised  toward  a Christian 
philosophy,  a Christian  morality,  a Christian  civil- 
ization. Much  of  this  process — perhaps  most  of  it — 
is  indirect  and  outside  of  the  fold  of  baptized  con- 
verts. There  are  many  things  in  Indian  character 
and  Indian  philosophy,  and  a few  things  even  in 
Indian  popular  religion,  that  are  helpful  accessories, 
approachable  sides,  points  of  attachment,  for  the 
work  of  religious  reform  in  India.  Of  all  the  obstacles 
to  this  most  desirable  result,  however,  so  much  bad 
example  in  the  doings  of  so-called  Christian  nations 
is  by  far  the  greatest,  most  obstructive  and  difficult 
to  overcome. 


CHAPTER  XI 


MADRAS  AND  FORT  GEORGE 

TXT^  HEN  we  arrived  on  time  at  the  city  station  of 
Madras,  although  it  was  only  a little  past  six 
o’clock  in  the  morning,  we  found  Dr.  Skinner,  Acting 
President  of  the  Christian  College,  waiting  to  wel- 
come us.  We  were  at  once  captivated  by  the  physi- 
cal aspects  of  this  capital  of  Southern  India;  for, 
although  it  has  not  the  imposing  situation  or  stately 
collection  of  public  buildings  of  Bombay,  or  the  va- 
riety of  educational,  civil,  and  commercial  interests 
of  which  Calcutta  can  boast,  it  has,  much  more  than 
either  of  the  other  capitals,  the  charm  of  the  tropics 
as  we  had  already  fallen  in  love  with  it  in  Colombo 
and  Singapore.  This  first  favorable  impression  was 
deepened  when,  in  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day,  we 
took  the  drive  along  the  beautiful  red  road  (the 
Marina ) extending  from  the  Fort,  over  the  Napier 
Bridge,  past  the  Senate  House,  the  Presidency  Col- 
lege, and  other  public  buildings,  by  a sea,  the  waters 
of  which  have  that  deep  and  brilliant  blue  that  can- 
not be  matched  in  temperate  or  northern  zones. 
And,  besides,  much  of  the  way  the  driveway  is  over- 

236 


Madras  and  Fort  George 


237 


hung  by  mighty  banyan  trees  which  form  a veritable 
tunnel  and  furnish  an  agreeable  coolness  even  under 
the  tropical  sun. 

Another  class  of  physical  phenomena,  quite  as 
interesting  but  not  quite  as  agreeable,  gave  notice 
that  night  of  our  having  arrived  in  a somewhat  dif- 
ferent zone.  For  I was  awakened  out  of  a sound 
sleep  by  my  bed  shaking.  My  first  thought  was  of 
a train  of  cars  passing  near  by.  But  no  train  of 
cars  could  shake  a house  of  this  solid  structure  in 
this  fashion ; for  the  bed  was  swa}dng  in  the  “billowy” 
way  which  characterizes  the  most  vicious  kind  of 
earthquakes.  (It  should  be  explained  to  those  who 
have  not  been  initiated  to  the  same  variety  of  ex- 
perience, that  the  shakings  which  the  earth  gives 
herself  when  she  decides  that  it  is  time  to  ease  the 
pressure  by  changing  her  levels  underneath  you,  are 
seldom  or  never  precisely  alike.)  Yes,  it  was  a real 
live  earthquake,  and  rather  the  most  severe  I have 
ever  experienced,  in  spite  of  several  decided  shocks 
during  my  visits  to  Japan.  One  of  the  household, 
and  he  a man  of  science,  when  he  heard  the  grinding 
of  the  walls  in  the  tower  where  he  slept,  ran  out  into 
the  verandah  expecting  the  building  to  fall.  The 
papers  next  day  reported  the  earthquake  as  widely 
extended  through  that  part  of  India. 

The  ten  days  of  quarantine,  during  which  a daily 
visit  to  the  health-office  and  an  inspection  by  one  of 
its  doctors  were  prescribed,  threatened  to  be  some- 


238  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

tiling  more  than  a temporary  nuisance.  For  the 
influenza  which  I had  contracted  on  the  cars  from 
Benares  was  in  the  feverish  stage,  and  made  me  so 
weak  and  miserable  that  during  the  period  of  quar- 
antine it  was  necessary  to  lounge  or  lie  in  bed  all 
day,  in  order  to  get  up  for  the  afternoon  lecture  and 
the  evening  social  function.  But  rarely  good  luck 
was  in  store  for  us  in  this  regard.  For  the  exam- 
ining surgeon  was  an  Eurasian : and  after  we  had 
gone  to  him  for  two  days,  he  said  it  was  more  fitting 
to  our  dignity  that  he  should  come  to  us.  The 
medical  member  of  the  Faculty  of  the  Christian  Col- 
lege  gave  us  two  excellent  pieces  of  advice,  one  social, 
the  other  physiological.  The  government  doctor, 
said  our  wise  friend,  being  an  Eurasian,  will  on  no 
account  offer  to  shake  hands  with  you.  Do  not  you 
offer  to  shake  hands  with  him.  Then  he  will  have 
no  chance  by  feeling  to  detect  that  you  have  a fever. 
If  now,  he  went  on  to  say,  “I  give  you  some  medicine, 
you  will  be  well  in  two  weeks ; if  you  do  not  take  any 
medicine,  you  will  be  well  in  a fortnight.”  I re- 
frained from  shaking  hands  with  the  Eurasian  doc- 
tor and  from  receiving  medicine  from  the  European 
doctor ; — and  in  due  time  reaped  the  reward  of  both 
kinds  of  abstinence. 

The  lectures  in  Madras  were  of  a peculiar,  and  in 
some  respects  superior,  interest  to  those  given  in 
either  of  the  other  Presidency  cities.  The  average 
audiences  numbered  some  four  or  five  hundred,  and 


Madras  and  Fort  George  239 

consisted  chiefly  of  graduates  and  older  students  of 
the  different  colleges,  almost  exclusively  Hindus  so 
far  as  the  native  part  was  concerned,  but  with  a 
considerable  number  of  Europeans  who  were  almost 
without  exception  Christian.  In  his  introduction 
Justice  Shephard,  then  the  chief  magistrate  of  this 
Presidency,  referred  to  the  “curious  connection”  be- 
tween Madras  and  Yale,  in  that  this  University  had 
derived  its  name  and  £800  of  endowment  from  Elihu 
Yale,  who,  when  he  left  the  country  after  being  Gov- 
ernor here,  took  away  with  him  “a  bag  of  diamonds.” 

After  the  lecture,  Dr.  Miller,  who  had  been  for 
many  years  the  successful  and  beloved  President  of 
the  Christian  College,  rose,  and  in  the  fluent  way 
which  the  natives  so  much  enjoy,  spoke  some  good 
words  about  the  lecturer,  and  then  went  on  to  com- 
mend the  goodness  of  Justice  Shephard  in  the  matter 
of  arranging  for  the  course.  Then  again  the  Jus- 
tice spoke,  explaining  that  the  course  was  virtually 
under  University  auspices,  although  it  could  not  be 
given  in  the  Senate  House,  since  this  building  was 
now  being  got  ready  for  an  art  exhibition.  In  his 
closing  sentences  the  Vice-Chancellor  became  some- 
what tangled  up,  and  sat  down  leaving  one  of  his 
periods  in  mid  air,  as  it  were. 

The  colleges  and  schools  and  educational  institu- 
tions generally  of  Madras  are  neither  so1  numerous 
nor  of  so  high  average  grade  as  are  those  of  either 
Bombay  or  Calcutta.  But  they  have  some  very  inter- 


240  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

esting  peculiarities.  Perhaps  the  chief  of  these  are 
due  to  the  fact  that  there  are  almost  no  Muhamma- 
dans or  Parsees  to  be  found  among  their  patrons  or 
their  pupils ; while  the  type  of  Hinduism  prevalent' 
and  to  be  encountered  in  various  practical  ways,  in 
Southern  differs  from  that  of  Northern  India.  The 
Madras  Christian  College  is,  however,  probably  the 
best  equipped  and  best  managed  of  all  the  similar 
collegiate  institutions  in  the  country.  Its  collegiate 
department  had  at  the  time  of  our  visit  about  five- 
hundred  in  attendance.  The  preparatory  school  had 
not  yet  been  made  up  for  the  ensuing  collegiate  year, 
owing  to  the  unfortunate  fact  that  the  proofs  of 
some  of  the  examination-papers  had  been  stolen  from 
the  registrar’s  waste-basket  into  which  he  had  care- 
lessly thrown  them.  The  school,  however,  ordinarily 
numbers  as  many  as  one  thousand.  One  of  the  most 
interesting  facts  connected  with  the  organization  of 
this  institution  is  this ; — namely,  that  almost  all  the 
boys  in  one  of  the  hostels  of  the  College  come  from 
a body  of  Syrian  Christians,  who  form  a community 
of  fully  400,000  members  on  the  Western  Coast  not 
far  to  the  South  of  Goa.  My  informant  thought 
that  the  time  of  their  settlement  in  India  was  lost 
in  antiquity ; but  they  seem  to  have  antedated  the 
Portuguese  Roman-Catholics  by  a long  period  of 
time.  They  have  suffered  much  persecution  in  past 
years,  especially  by  the  Portuguese  Catholics;  and 
some  have  become  adherents  of  the  faith  of  their 


Madras  and  Fort  George  24*1 

persecutors.  But  the  greater  number  still  remain 
adherents  of  the  Patriarch  of  Antioch ; though  there 
is  a difference  of  opinion  which  divides  them  into  two 
sects.  One  sect  holds  that  the  Patriarch  has  the 
absolute  right  to  the  appointment  over  them  of  their 
clergy ; the  other  sect  holds  that  he  has  only  the 
right  to  confirm  the  choice  of  their  congregations. 
These  Syrian  Christians  are  said  to  be  a much  more 
vigorous  and  reputable  people  than  the  converts  of 
Portuguese  Catholicism.  As  judged  by  their  racial 
characteristics  they  are  evidently  the  descendants  of 
some  body  of  Syrians,  who  migrated  here  and  inter- 
married with  the  natives. 

Subsequently  we  paid  a visit  to  the  Northwick 
Girl’s  Boarding  School,  which  was  then  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland.  These 
girls  were  all  Christians ; and  their  rather  shy  and 
dull  demeanor,  in  contrast  with  the  bright  and  “up- 
and-coming”  manners  of  the  Hindu  girls  whom  we 
visited  in  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day,  disclosed 
plainly  the  fact  that  the  former  came  from  families 
of  low  origin  and  bucolic  surroundings,  and  the  lat- 
ter from  good  or  high-caste  Brahman  families. 
This  school  is,  however,  doing  excellent  work  in 
educating  Christian  teachers  for  the  lower  grade 
schools  and  wives  for  the  Christian  boys, — a very 
important  and  laudable  species  of  manufacture. 

At  the  Chetty  School  for  Hindu  Girls  we  saw 
another  exhibition  of  native  jugglery  and  snake- 


242  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

charming.  Strange  that  both  these  exhibitions 
should  be  given  for  our  entertainment  by  schools  for 
girls ! But  here  were  300  bright  black  “tots,”  who 
seemed  keenly  to  appreciate  the  tricks  and  the  jokes 
of  the  juggler.  The  cobra  produced  from  under  the 
cloth  was  rather  too  lively  to  allow  me,  who  sat  well 
within  his  striking  distance  when  it  was  allowed  to 
creep  to  the  edge  of  the  table,  to  enjoy  to  the  full 
the  juggler’s  tricks;  I was  not  at  all  sorry  when  the 
venomous  reptile  was  safely  boxed  up  again ; though 
in  general,  I am  not  particularly  afraid  of  snakes, 
but  rather  am  pleased  to  watch  their  maneuverings 
and  changes  of  temper.  Of  course,  the  jokes  of  the 
juggler  could  not  be  appreciated  by  the  two  foreign 
guests  who  were  not  at  all  acquainted  with  the  lan- 
guage in  which  they  were  uttered. 

The  foolish  and  degrading  superstitions,  the  filthy 
and  licentious  and  cruel  practices,  and  the  generally 
low  intellectual  and  moral  tone  of  the  popular  Hin- 
duism, are  even  more  conspicuous  and  unmistakable 
in  Southern  than  in  Northern  India.  Probably  the 
same  thing  is  true  of  the  inefficiency  and  untrust- 
worthiness of  the  natives  in  all  manner  of  domestic, 
civil  and  commercial  relations.  In  all  these  respects 
the  testimony  of  the  foreigners  who  had  lived  long- 
est with  them  and  who  were  their  most  affectionate 
and  sympathetic  friends  coincided  with  my  own  ob- 
servations. The  reasons  for  this  difference  seem  to 
be  chiefly  the  following  four:  The  mixture  of  races 


243 


Madras  and  Fort  George 

in  the  North,  especially  of  the  Indo-Aryan  stock,  is 
markedly  superior  to  that  of  the  South ; something 
— it  is  impossible  to  say  just  how  much— is  due  to 
the  influences  upon  the  physical  organism  and  the 
habits  of  living,  particularly  as  affecting  the  sexual 
relations,  of  the  more  distinctly  tropical  climate; 
the  Muhammadan  rule,  in  spite  of  all  the  corruption 
and  criminal  procedure  of  the  different  rulers  of  the 
Mogul  Empire,  was  on  the  whole  an  improvement 
upon  that  of  the  native  Hindu  princes  and  of  the 
Brahmanical  priests  and  courtiers ; and  the  foreign 
governmental  and  religious  influences,  especially 
those  flowing  from  the  British  East  India  Company 
and  Portuguese  Roman  Catholicism,  in  the  earlier 
days,  tended  to  provoke  and  exploit  rather  than  to 
improve  and  restrain  some  of  the  worst  of  the  native 
characteristics,  both  public  and  private. 

One  who  had  come  from  Japan  so  recently  could 
not  be  long  in  Southern  India  without  noticing  the 
characteristic  difference  in  the  temper  of  the  two  peo- 
ples as  evinced  by  the  differences  in  the  very  sounds 
which  filled  the  air.  In  Tokyo  we  had  lived  for  six 
weeks  just  over  the  fence  from  a large  public-school; 
in  Madras  our  bedroom  and  dressing-rooms  were 
just  across  the  narrowest  lane  from  two  sides  of 
the  school-rooms  of  one  of  the  colleges.  In  Japan 
not  a cross  or  disagreeable  noise  came  from  the 
building  or  the  playground  of  the  school  to  our  ears 
during  our  entire  stay.  The  songs  and  pleasant 


244  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

cries  of  the  children  at  play,  the  low  and  cheerful 
words  of  instruction  and  command  from  the  teachers, 
were  the  only  sounds  which  were  to  be  heard  from 
the  compound  of  the  school.  Even  the  crows  in  the 
grove  farther  away  seemed  to  be  only  gently  ex- 
postulating with  us  for  occasionally  appearing  on  a 
landscape  which  they  had  come  to  consider  pecu- 
liarly their  own.  But  from  the  playground  of  the 
school  in  Madras  came  only  high-pitched,  shrill- 
voiced noises,  usually  of  wrangling  and  quarrelling, 
though  the  disputants  never  came  to  blows.  Scarcely 
an  hour  of  the  day  passed  when  our  ears  were  not 
disturbed  with  the  noises  of  some  row  going  on  in 
the  school-room  itself  between  the  boys  and  their 
native  teachers.  Looking  through  the  blinds  to  see 
what  could  be  the  matter,  one  would  behold  the 
pedagogue  gesticulating  and  orating  against  idle- 
ness, or  insolence,  and  hear  him  threatening  all  sorts 
of  punishment,  none  of  which  seemed  ever  to  be  ap- 
plied. One  would  hear  the  pupil  “sassing  back,” 
and  see  the  other  pupils  grinning  at  the  sport,  occa- 
sionally taking  part  themselves  in  the  game  of  verbal 
bluster, — of  course,  usually  on  the  boy’s  side.  And 
anon,  another  order  of  noises  arises  from  the  lane 
below  the  window.  This  time  it  is  a man  and  an  old 
woman  who  are  abusing  and  threatening  each  other, 
with  a small  crowd  of  idlers  looking  on.  But  it  all 
ends  in  gabble.  Even  the  crows  have  the  most 
exasperating  of  caws,  and  they  are  ceaselessly  at  it. 


Madras  and  Fort  George  245 

They  are  certainly  the  originals  of  the  species  corvus 
impudens.  I have  seen  them  come  down  upon  the 
maiden  who  was  carrying  around  the  plate  of  cakes 
at  afternoon  tea  and  carry  off  a piece  as  plunder. 
One  must  guard  one’s  skull  from  a possible  fracture 
in  this  way,  who  takes  a meal  in  the  open  air. 

But  when  we  are  told  of  the  two  Brahman  police- 
men who  tried  to  extort  Rs.  5 from  a set  of  money- 
lenders, more  than  thirty  in  number,  and  failing  in 
their  first  efforts,  invoking  the  name  of  the  law 
broke  into  their  club-house  and  placed  cards  and 
other  gambling  implements  in  hiding,  that  they  might 
subsequently  discover  them,  we  are  not  entitled  to  be 
quite  so  much  amazed  at  such  heathenish  dishonesty 
as  we  should  be  if  somewhat  similar  occurrences  had 
not  been  known  to  take  place  in  our  own  Christian 
cities.  The  dhoibee  or  low-caste  Hindu  who  does 
your  washing,  will  let  out  your  evening  dress  to  an 
Eurasian  man  or  woman  to  be  married  in ; the  driver 
of  your  carriage  when  you  go  shopping  expects  his 
fee  from  the  shop-keeper  for  bringing  him  a cus- 
tomer; if  you  want  approximately  pure  milk,  you 
must  have  the  cow  milked  in  the  sight  of  a trust- 
worthy witness,  and  even  then  the  milker  may  be 
practicing  adulteration  by  having  a bottle  literally 
“up  his  sleeve,”  from  which  a concealed  rubber  tube 
makes  connection  with  the  pail;  your  cook  will  kill 
your  own  chickens  and  charge  you  the  full  market- 
price  for  them  on  his  bill;  and  various  other  similar 


24:6  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

annoyances  will  afflict  your  life  in  Southern  India. 
But  all  these  things  have  their  parallels  in  America ; 
and  after  all,  Southern  India  is  a most  delightful 
place  to  live  in,  if  only  one  has  the  income  for  a 
good  style  of  upkeep  in  foreign  fashion  and  can  flee 
to  the  hills  in  the  worst  of  the  tropical  heat. 

The  annoyances  of  which  a few  selected  specimens 
have  just  been  rehearsed  are  trivialities.  Not  such 
are  some  other  abominations  with  which  the  British 
Government  does  not  venture  actively  to  interfere. 
While  in  Madras  I received  a visit  from  delegates  of 
the  Hindu  Reform  Association  of  Travancore.  This 
Association  wyas  then  moving  for  the  abolition  of 
child-marriages ; for  the  re-marriage  of  widows  in 
order  that  these  unfortunate  women  might  be  saved 
from  compulsory  prostitution;  and  for  the  increased 
purity  and  temperance  of  the  young  men.  But  in 
Travancore  the  Brahmans,  now  as  ever,  are  so  much 
in  the  ascendency  that  the  Maharaja  himself  is  corrH 
pelled  to  be  annually  weighed  in  a scale  against  an 
equal  weight  of  coin  (it  used  to  be  gold,  but  it  is 
now  a mixture  of  silver  and  copper),  and  the  entire 
sum  distributed  to  the  Brahmans  as  a bribe  to  pre- 
vent their  intriguing  against  his  rule.  Only  the  oldest 
son  of  a Brahman  family  marries ; the  younger  sons 
consort  with  the  girls  of  the  warrior  caste;  and  in 
Travancore  the  warrior  caste  has  no  legal  marriage 
whatever.  My  informants  considered  the  British 
Government  needlessly  conservative  and  timid  about 
reform,  fearing,  apparently,  the  disturbance  of  their 


Madras  and  Fort  George  247 

revenues  by  any  sort  of  agitation.  They  instanced, 
in  proof,  the  case  where,  when  the  native  ruler  and 
his  Ministers  were  ready  to  change  the  law  which 
disinherited  all  Christians,  the  Government  under 
the  influence  of  the  Travancore  Brahmans  discour- 
aged all  efforts  at  this  reform. 

No  one  who  has  looked  the  facts  in  the  face  with 
an  observing  eye  can  place  the  slightest  confidence 
in  the  attempts,  current  even  with  some  writers  upon 
the  subject  in  this  country,  to  explain  away  or  to 
“spiritualize”  the  atrocious  indecencies  and  gross 
licentiousness,  not  only  permitted  but  prescribed  and 
actually  practiced  by  the  Hindu  worship  in  Southern 
India.  The  doings  at  many  of  the  festivals,  the 
prevalent  decorations  of  the  temple  walls  and  of  the 
cars  used  in  the  religious  processions,  and  many 
other  evidences,  are  in  plain  contradiction  of  the 
more  tolerant  view.  To  quote  again  from  an  author- 
ity on  the  religions  of  India  (Prof.  E.  W.  Hopkins) 
when  speaking  of  the  “esoteric  side”  of  the  sectarian 
religions : “Obscenity  is  the  soul  of  this  cult.  Bes- 

tiality equalled  only  by  the  orgies  of  the  Indie  sav- 
ages among  the  hill-tribes  is  the  form  of  this  religion. 
....  A description  of  the  different  rites  would  be 
to  re-duplicate  an  account  of  indecencies,  of  which 
the  least  vile  is  too  esoteric  to  sketch  faithfully.” 
Extermination,  root  and  branch,  by  the  criminal  law 
is  the  only  sound  policy  in  dealing  with  such  pretence 
of  “freedom  of  religious  worship.” 

It  was  pertinent  to  this  state  of  things,  as  well  as 


248  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

a significant  revelation  of  them,  that  while  we  were 
in  Madras  a discussion  was  going  on  in  the  news- 
papers as  to  the  right  of  the  Government,  not  only 
to  proscribe,  but  also  to  prescribe,  text-books  for 
instruction  in  the  schools  and  colleges  of  the  Presi- 
dency. On  looking  up  the  matter  I came  upon  the 
following  extract  from  the  civil  and  penal  code.  It 
dealt  with  an  exception  to  the  general  law  and  ran 
about  as  follows : “Except  that  the  law  shall  not 

apply  to  indecent  and  obscene  representations  of 
sacred  personages.”  Now,  undoubtedly,  it  may  be 
claimed  that  certain  models  of  Greek  art  and  stories 
of  the  Greek  gods,  and  even  certain  passages  of  the 
Old  Testament,  would  seem  to  need  a similar  excep- 
tion in  their  favor.  Let  us  grant  this,  but  without 
expressing  an  opinion  as  to  whether  such  exceptions 
ought  to  be  made,  or  not.  The  admission  would  not 
on  the  whole  destroy  the  truth  that  no  other  mix- 
ture of  nastiness  with  religion,  which  is  apt  to  meet 
in  any  way  the  eyes  of  the  observing  traveller  as  he 
journeys  round  the  world,  is  on  the  whole  quite  so 
disturbing  and  repulsive  as  that  sure  to  be  met  with 
in  the  popular  and  traditional  worship  of  Hinduism 
in  Southern  India. 

One  cannot  see  intelligently  the  City  of  Madras, 
not  to  say  understand  with  some  thoroughness  its 
present  condition  and  history  in  the  past,  without 
knowing  something  more  than  a hurried  visit  can 
bestow  about  the  celebrated  fortress  called  after  the 


Madras  and  Fort  George  249 

name  of  the  patron  saint  of  those  who  built  and 
defended  it,  “Fort  St.  George.”  We  were  particu- 
larly fortunate  in  receiving  an  invitation  to  break- 
fast from  the  chaplain  at  the  Fort  at  that  time,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Penny.  After  breakfast  it  was  planned 
that  we  should  inspect  the  place  and  learn  something 
of  its  history  and  of  the  most  notable  of  the  men 
who  have  been  in  the  past  connected  with  it,  from 
Mrs.  Penny  who  has  since  added  to  her  other  pub- 
lished works  a history  of  Fort  George  that  is  the 
standard  authority  on  the  subject. 

The  founding  of  a fort,  which  it  is  supposed  was 
called  “Fort  George”  for  the  reason,  in  addition  to 
the  appropriateness  'of  the  name  as  applied  to  any 
similar  construction  by  the  British,  because  it  was 
completed  on  St.  George’s  day  (April  23)  was 
nearly  contemporaneous  with  the  founding  of  Mad- 
ras. From  the  beginning,  the  Fort  and  the  City,  and 
indeed  the  entire  Presidency,  have  gone  through 
similar  vicissitudes.  The  whole  enterprise  dates  from 
1640  when  Francis  Day,  chief  of  the  East  India 
Company’s  settlement,  obtained  a grant  of  land  for 
the  present  site  of  the  city  from  a native  ruler.  The 
condition  and  policy  of  the  Company,  its  relations 
to  the  Rulers  of  the  Mogul  Empire,  and  the  dangers 
which  constantly  threatened  both  these  foundations, 
are  all  told  in  such  an  amusing  and  vivid  way  by  the 
Italian  adventurer,  Manucci,  the  so-called  “Pepys 
of  Mogul  India,”  that  it  is  well  worth  while  to  quote 


250  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

a somewhat  lengthy  passage  from  his  narrative  de- 
scriptive of  a somewhat  later  time.  In  January,  1701, 
the  Mogul  General  Da-ud  Khan  had  been  sent  to  the 
Province  of  the  Karnatik  by  Aurangzeb,  to  look  after 
the  interests  of  the  Empire.  He  had  encamped  in 
front  of  the  great  fortress  of  Arkat,  “an  ancient 
strong  place  of  the  Hindu  kings.”  The  Mogul  Gen- 
eral, says  Manucci,  was  in  “the  greatest  imaginable 
fury  and  passion,”  because  the  presents  which  the 
English  had  sent  him  were  so  insignificant  in  compari- 
son with  his  importance ; and  he  was  threatening  at 
once  to  despatch  an  armed  force  against  Madras  and 
Fort  George,  and  then  to  follow  it  up  by  going  in 
person  with  a large  army.  Thus  wTould  he  let  the 
English  know  that  he  was  a person  of  much  more 
importance  than  they  had  reckoned  him  to  be. 

Manucci  was  much  distressed,  for  he  was  friendly 
to  all  Europeans  and  also  on  good  terms  with  Da-ud 
Khan;  besides,  he  foresaw  that  his  own  interest 
would  be  seriously  imperiled  by  the  spreading  of  such 
a strife  over  that  entire  region.  He  therefore  paid 
the  Mogul  General  a friendly  visit,  bearing — as  the 
custom  is  even  to  this  day  throughout  the  Orient — 
presents  in  his  hand.  Manucci  confesses  that  he  did 
not  lead  the  conversation  to  the  point  desired,  until 
he  had  made  it  “easy”  by  putting  his  interlocutor 
into  “high  spirits”  by  getting  him  to  drink — fol- 
lower of  Muhammad  though  he  was — “copiously  of 
the  European  wines  that  I had  brought  for  him.” 


251 


Madras  and  Fort  George 

But  now  let  the  wily  Italian  Christian  tell  in  his 
own  words  how  he  for  the  time  circumvented  the 
plans  of  the  wily  Muhammadan  man  of  war.  Ma- 
nucci  opened  his  plea  with  the  subject  which  was 
really  of  most  importance  to  both  parties.  “As  con- 
cerned the  revenues,”  says  he,  “I  pointed  out  to  him 
that  when  the  English  came  and  occupied  Madras  it 
was  nothing  but  one  vast  plain  full  of  sand,  un- 
inhabited and  without  any  name  or  fame  in  India. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  should  be  remembered  that  it 
was  now  highly  populous,  full  of  active  merchants 
and  other  residents.  It  was  the  money  of  the  Eng- 
lish and  their  good  government  that  had  created  all 
that  prosperity,  coupled  with  the  justice  they  ad- 
ministered to  everybody  without  fear  or  favor.  If 
he  intended  to  act  with  so  much  harshness  and  in- 
justice, all  the  nations  of  Europe  would  abandon 
India.  He  must  recollect  the  income  and  benefits 
which  Aurangzeb  had  acquired;  for  from  what 
entered  and  left  Madras  alone,  he  collected  more 
than  one-hundred  thousand  patacas  (equal  to  about 
$70,000  in  gold  at  the  present  time).  In  addition, 
there  were  many  merchants,  weavers,  cloth-printers 
and  others,  for  all  of  whom  the  English  provided  a 
livelihood.” 

After  summing-up  the  much  larger  sums  which 
were  earned  by  the  subjects  of  Aurangzeb  through 
the  mercantile  and  manufacturing  enterprises  of  the 
English,  Manucci  goes  on  to  urge  Da-ud  Khan  to 


252  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

remember  that  “the  whole  of  this  remained  in  the 
country,  and  in  exchange  for  this  the  English  car- 
ried off  to  Europe  no  more  than  some  cotton-cloth. 
Let  him  reflect  that  if  he  objected  to  the  residence 
of  the  English  in  Madras,  and  if  he  bothered  his 
head  about  their  gaining  such  considerable  sums,  it 
was  requisite  for  Aurangzeb  and  his  subjects  to  give 
them  time  to  withdraw  to  Europe.  They  (the  Eng- 
lish) set  little  store  by  the  place ; yet  if  they  were 
forced  to  abandon  it,  they  would  also  give  up  the 
other  towns  and  factories  they  held  in  the  Indies. 
In  that  case  they  would  cease  to  be  friends  and  be- 
come enemies.  Upon  their  departure  they  would 
without  fail  seize  every  ship  they  came  across,  and 
thereby  spread  ruin  and  desolation  throughout  the 
Mogul  Empire.” 

The  Mogul  General  yielded  to  the  entreaties  of 
Manucci,  who  afterwards  chronicles  his  visit  to  Fort 
George,  and  the  compliments  and  civilities  between 
him  and  the  English  Governor,  Mr.  Pitt.  After  be- 
ing saluted  with  guns,  whose  salvos  at  first  terrified 
him,  dined  and  wined,  and  enriched  with  more  val- 
uable presents,  some  of  which  were  of  his  own  choos- 
ing, Da-ud  Khan  went  back  to  his  own  camp  in 
better  humor.  But  this  reconciliation  lasted  only  a 
brief  time;  for  in  1702  the  Mogul  blockaded  the  town 
for  several  weeks,  but  retired  without  capturing  it. 
Forty  years  later,  however,  it  was  bombarded  and 
captured  by  the  French;  was  restored  to  the  Eng- 


Madras  and  Fort  George  253 

lish  by  the  Treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle ; was  invested 
again  by  the  French  but  relieved  by  the  timely  ar- 
rival of  the  English  fleet;  was  threatened  by  Hyder 
Ali’s  horsemen  in  1780;  but  since  then  Fort  George 
has  remained  in  English  hands  free  from  external 
attack. 

We  spent  our  first  hour  and  more  in  the  Church 
of  the  Fort,  which  was  built  in  1680  and  is  there- 
fore the  oldest  building  used  by  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land in  all  India.  It  is  well  kept  up  and  is  in  most 
excellent  condition.  The  chunam  work  here  is  all 
of  ground  shell  beautifully  polished.  The  gallery, 
where  the  Governor  and  his  Council  used  to  sit  in 
state,  but  where  now  the  prisoners  of  the  Fort-prison 
are  seated  when  they  attend  service  under  guard,  is 
supported  on  beautifully  carved  wooden  pillars ; its 
railing  is  also  of  the  same  carved  wood-work.  The 
carving  follows  Hindu  patterns,  such  as  one  fa- 
miliar with  the  Hindu  temples  would  quickly  recog- 
nize. But  the  posts  of  the  railing  are  a curious  mix- 
ture of  Hindu  and  Christian  symbolic  figures.  They 
are  quadrangular  in  shape;  at  the  base  are  two 
carved  elephants  whose  trunks  are  elongated  and 
turned  upwards,  with  carved  birds  on  top,  and  the 
whole  crowned  with  cherubs.  All  this  work  is  beau- 
tifully done. 

A large  picture  of  the  last-supper,  which  was  for- 
merly placed  back  of  the  altar,  is  now  hung  on  the 
wall  over  the  front  arch  of  the  sanctuary.  The 


254  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

story  has  been  spread  abroad  that  this  picture  is 
“loot”  from  the  Portuguese  Cathedral  at  Pon- 
dicherry. But  our  host  assured  us  that  this  could 
not  be;  since  the  picture  is  catalogued  among  the 
treasures  of  the  Church  at  Fort  George,  before 
Pondicherry  was  taken.  On  the  side-walls  and  col- 
umns of  the  Church  are  memorials  to  a number  of 
men  celebrated  in  Anglo-Indian  history.  Some  of 
this  work  is  in  marble  sculptured  by  such  artists  as 
Bacon  and  Flaxman,  in  their  finest  st}Tle.  For  in 
the  gallery  of  this  Church  have  sat  at  public  worship 
several  of  the  most  celebrated  men  in  the  history  of 
the  British  Empire; — among  them  Wellington,  Clive, 
Cornwallis,  and  other  much  respected  and  beloved, 
though  not  so  widely  known  men,  like  Munro  and 
Hobart,  who  have  acted  as  Governors  of  Madras. 
Among  the  memorial  tablets  is  one  to  the  missionary 
Schwartz ; it  was  erected  by  the  East  India  Com- 
pan}r,  because  of  his  distinguished  services  in  pro- 
curing and  keeping  peaceful  relations  with  the  native 
princes.  The  Raja  of  Mysore  so  trusted  and  loved 
this  good  missionary  that  at  his  death  he  placed  his 
son  under  the  tutorial  care  of  the  good  Christian 
Schwarz. 

Twice  the  Church  of  Fort  St.  George  has  been 
used  as  a granary  and  horses  stabled  in  it  in  times 
of  siege  by  the  French.  Once  a portion  of  its  rear 
tower  was  knocked  down  by  a cannon  ball.  Its  roof, 
however,  was  built  so  as  to  be  for  that  day  bomb- 


Madras  and  Fort  George  255 

proof.  Outside  are  the  tomb-stones  of  some  of  the 
more  notable  men  of  the  Presidency, — merchants  and 
others ; and  among  them  are  the  names  of  several 
families  such  as  Fleetwood,  Morse,  Titus  Oates 
(nephew  of  the  more  celebrated  man  by  that  name) 
who  were  obnoxious  to  the  Government  of  Charles  II, 
and  who  were  therefore  sent  as  a good  riddance  to 
India  for  positions  there. 

On  returning  to  the  house  we  were  shown  the 
Church  plate,  one  piece  of  which,  the  salver  to  re- 
ceive the  offerings,  was  the  gift  of  Governor  Elihu 
Yale.  The  proofs  of  Mrs.  Penny’s  forthcoming 
book  were  also  kindly  offered  for  our  inspection;  as 
well  as,  also,  such  of  the  records  on  the  foundation 
of  which  the  book  was  written  as  I cared  to  see. 
Among  these  was  the  notice  of  Yale’s  marriage  to 
the  widow  Hinmers,  or  Hynmers,  whose  husband  had 
died  the  May  before.  This  notice  was  as  follows : 

Elihu  Yale  and  Catherine  Hinmers,  re- 
lict of  Joseph  Hinmers,  were  married  by 
the  Revd  Mr.  Richd  Portman  minister, 
given  in  marriage  by  the  Right  Worship- 
full  Stringham  Masters  Esqr,  Gov11  Henry 
Oxe11  den  & John  Wilcox  Bridemen,  Cath- 
erine Barker  & Tryphena  Ord  Brides- 
maids. 

Almost  precisely  the  same  date  (1686)  Manucci 
married  a Roman-Catholic  widow  wTho  was  the  daugh- 


256  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

ter  of  an  English  magistrate  named  Christopher 
Hartley,  by  a Spanish  woman.  In  his  diary  he  is 
careful  to  state  that  she  was  “legitimate,”  and  how 
much  he  mourned  her  loss  when  she  died  just  twenty 
years  later.  During  most  of  this  period  Manucci 
lived  at  Madras,  “or  Fort  George” — the  two  titles 
being  deemed  identical — and  practiced  ceremonial 
“blood-letting”  and  other  forms  of  the  medical  art, 
to  his  own  great  profit  and  with  distinguished  suc- 
cess. He  has  left  a curious  account  of  this  “royal 
blood-letting,”  how  it  was  done,  and  what  happened 
to  him  on  such  occasions.  “Ordinarily  the  princes 
and  princesses  have  themselves  bled  twice  in  the 
Month  of  March,  and  the  interval  between  the  two 
bleedings  does  not  exceed  twenty-four  hours.  The 
operation  is  begun  half  an  hour  before  the  setting  of 
the  sun.  Three  days  afterward  they  take  a purge; 
but  if  necessity  demands  a shorter  interval  they  do 
not  wait  the  three  days,  but  are  governed  by  the  re- 
quirements of  the  case.  In  the  month  of  September 
the  same  procedure  is  repeated.”  The  same  quaint 
chronicler  has  left  us  much  information  as  to  the  in- 
trigues and  quarrels  between  the  Hindu  Brahmans 
and  the  “Roman  Brahmans,”  as  the  Portuguese 
priests  found  it  expedient  to  call  themselves ; as  to 
the  struggles  of  the  British  East  India  Company 
with  the  Mogul  officials,  the  French,  and  the  Portu- 
guese ; and  as  to  other  strange  occurrences  and  ad- 
ventures within  and  around  the  city  of  Madras  and 
the  Fort  St.  George. 


Madras  and  Fort  George 


257 


We  further  paid  our  respects  to  the  memory  of 
“Old  Eli”  by  visiting  the  tomb  of  his  infant  son. 
It  stands  back  of  the  Law  School  building  and  is 
of  very  curious  structure.  The  tablets,  or  rather 
inscriptions,  are  cut  in  the  stone  face  of  either 
side  of  an  archway  which  runs  through  under  the 
monument.  On  one  side  is  the  memorial  in  old 
English  to  a Mr.  Hinmers,  Madame  Yale’s  first  hus- 
band ; on  the  other  side  the  memorial  to  the  Gov- 
ernor’s infant  son. 


The  places  and  institutions  connected  with  the 
history  of  French  and  Portuguese  Catholicism  in 
Madras  are  scarcely,  if  at  all,  less  interesting  than 
those  of  the  English  occupation.  Recognizing  this, 
we  were  driven  one  day  after  tea  to  the  Church  of 


258  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

Saint  Thome,  where  the  priest  acting  as  prior  in  the 
absence  of  his  superior  showed  us  every  courtesy. 
In  the  center  of  the  new  cathedral  some  ten  or 
twelve  feet  below  the  pavement  is  the  grave  of  Saint 
Thomas,  the  patron  saint  of  the  cathedral  and,  in- 
deed, of  all  this  movement  of  Roman  Catholicism  in 
Southern  India.  The  prior  then  ordered  the  sacris- 
tan to  show  us  the  vestments  of  the  bishop,- — a Por- 
tuguese ecclesiastic,  under  whom  is  the  cathedral  and 
its  parish,  but  who  is  not  subject  to  the  archbishop 
of  Madras.  Some  of  these  vestments  were  em- 
broidered in  Madras,  and  others — as  I understood 
the  priest — “at  home,”  that  is,  in  Portugal.  The 
relics  were  carefully  wrapped  in  parchment,  or 
paper,  and  inscribed  with  the  names  of  St.  Thomas, 
St.  Francis  Xavier,  St.  Elisabeth,  and  a number  of 
martyrs.  They  had  been  authenticated  and  sealed 
by  some  old-time  bishop  and  were  enclosed  under 
glass  in  a silver-gilt  reliquary.  But  the  padre  did 
not  know  what  the  relics  were,  or  when  they  were 
sealed  up,  or  anything  about  their  history. 

I took  advantage  of  a holiday  to  visit  in  the  com- 
panionship of  one  of  the  foreign  teachers  most 
learned  in  such  subjects,  St.  Thomas  Mount,  other- 
wise known  as  the  Great  Mount.  In  one  place 
Manucci  speaks  of  his  “house  at  the  Big  Mount.” 
This  hill  is  some  seven  miles  from  the  Fort,  but  at 
its  base  is  the  cantonment  which  used  to  be  the  head- 


Madras  and  Fort  George 


259 


quarters  of  the  Madras  Artillery.  The  Mount  is  a 
knoll  of  greenstone  and  syenite  about  300  feet  high, 
crowned  by  a very  old  Armenian  Church.  We  went 
by  cars  to  the  station,  but  there  procured  a funny 
little  bandy  into  which  one  crawled  through  a door 
in  the  rear,  and  then  sat  half-curled  up ; and  in  this 
way  reached  the  foot  of  the  Mount.  From  the  rail- 
way on  the  left  we  had  seen  Little  St.  Thomas,  and  a 
fine  long  stone  bridge,  over  which  pilgrims  used  to 
pass  in  great  numbers,  on  the  way  to  visit  this  sacred 
place.  The  bridge  was  built  by  Armenian  merchants 
when  they  were  numerous  and  wealthy  in  Madras  and 
vicinity. 

The  ascent  to  the  Church  on  the  top  of  the  Great 
Mount  is  by  a flight  of  one-hundred  and  twenty-one 
stone  steps.  Near  the  foot  of  this  lofty  stairway 
are  inserted  into  the  pavement  two  tombstones,  one 
of  which  bears  the  date  of  1604  and  the  uncommonly 
unconventional  but  frank  and  suggestive  statement 
in  Latin  that  the  person  beneath  was  filia  prima  legi- 
tima  of  her  father,  but  fdia  naturalis  of  another  and 
more  advanced  number. 

On  the  top  of  the  Mount  are  the  remains  of  a 
fortification,  with  embrasures  used  for  guns  and 
three  cannon  used  for  signals ; besides,  there  is  a 
building  once  used  as  a flag-station  from  which  the 
mail  steamer  approaching  the  harbor  used  to  be  sig- 
^nlled.  Here  also  are  the  ancient  church  and  a 
building  inhabited  by  priests.  The  church  was  built, 


260  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

according  to  the  sacristan  in  1544,  partly  at  the 
side  of,  and  partly  around,  a yet  more  ancient 
structure  of  small  stone  and  chunam  work,  the  date 
of  the  erection  of  which  is  lost  in  antiquity.  This 
more  ancient  part  of  the  structure  is  used  both  as 
a sort  of  vestry  and  as  a storeroom.  From  the  small 
alcove  in  the  tiny  dark  room — so  we  were  assured — 
was  taken  a stone  carving  of  a cross  and  a dove, 
which  my  learned  companion  identified  as  similar  to 
others  that  go  back  to  the  7th  century  A.D.  The 
alcove  is  now  occupied  by  American  lamps  and  cans 
of  kerosene.  Extremely  curious  paintings  in  oil  rep- 
resenting the  twelve  apostles  hang  high  up  on  the 
walls  of  this  ancient  church ; and  just  in  front  of 
the  altar  is  a painting  of  the  madonna  and  child 
which  the  sacristan  boldly  attributed  to  St.  Luke ! 
What  food  for  reflection  is  there  not  for  us  in  the 
facts  that  centuries  before  Christianity  was  taken 
to  our  heathenish  and  barbarian  ancestors,  the  now 
despised  priests  of  Portugal  and  the  cruelly  afflicted 
and  harrowed  Armenians  had  spread  their  form  of 
Christian  truth  and  ritual  widely  over  all  of  Southern 
India? 

Wishing  to  remove  the  suspicions  which  I learned 
that  the  Roman-Catholic  Archbishop  Colghan,  quite 
unlike  the  Jesuit  Fathers  in  Bombay,  entertained 
toward  me  and  my  work,  I called  upon  him  that  we 
might  be  better  acquainted  with  each  other’s  views. 
The  Archbishop  had  at  that  time  been  in  Madras 


Madras  and  Fort  George  261 

for  fifty-six  years,  returning  only  twice  in  all  that 
time  to  the  home-land.  He  came  down  at  once  into 
the  reception-room  on  my  card  being  sent  up.  He 
was  at  first  rather  coolly  quizzical  and  skeptical  as 
to  my  intentions  with  “the  heathen,”  or  as  to  the 
possibility  of  my  making  any  impression  upon  them. 
But  when  I explained  my  purpose  as  connected  with 
the  hope  of  doing  something  to  resist  the  incoming 
tide  of  agnosticism  and  atheism  among  the  present 
generation  of  babas,  and  said  that  I considered  this 
a worse  condition  in  its  relation  to  Christianity  than 
their  Hinduism,  he  agreed  with  me.  In  the  course  of 
our  conversation  the  Archbishop  quoted  the  saying 
not  long  since  of  Lady  Duff,  who  had  declared  that 
soon  all  India  would  become  either  Catholic  or  ag- 
nostic. I did  not  dispute  the  statement,  though  I 
could  not  agree  with  it.  When  we  parted,  the  atti- 
tude of  the  Archbishop  had  become  entirely  cordial, 
and  he  gave  me  his  official  blessing. 

We  were  also  particularly  favored  with  a chance 
to  see  other  interesting  things  of  a quite  different 
order,  by  an  invitation  from  Dr.  Thurston,  the  cus- 
todian of  the  Madras  Museum,  which  is  perhaps  the 
most  interesting  in  all  India,  to  take  breakfast  with 
him  and  then  under  his  guidance  see  the  things  most 
worth  seeing  in  the  collections  under  his  charge.  The 
things  which  are  most  interesting  are  the  oldest 
authentic  relics  of  Buddhism.  In  this  museum  are 
the  celebrated  marbles  which  were  taken  from  an 


262  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

exceedingly  old  Buddhist  place  on  the  river  Krishna, 
but  which  bear  plain  marks  of  Greek  influence,  and, 
it  is  not  unlikely,  were  done  under  the  supervision  and 
according  to  the  plans  of  some  Greek  artist.  Here 
also  is  the  oldest  authenticated  relic  of  any  sort  in 
all  the  world.  It  consists  of  three  tiny  chips  of  bone, 
enclosed  in  a small  casket  of  beryl  with  a gold- 
capped  stopper,  and  a rim  of  beaten  gold  to  seal  it 
on.  We  do  not  know  that  these  are  bits  of  Buddha’s 
bones ; but  we  do  know  that  they  were  considered 
such  as  early  as  the  date  of  King  Asoka,  210  B.C. 
For  the  whole  relic  as  enclosed  in  its  box  of  beryl 
was  taken  from  the  center  of  a large  and  hitherto 
undisturbed  stone  casket  bearing  authentic  inscrip- 
tions of  that  date.  The  Buddhist  priests  of  Burmah 
or  of  Kandy,  Ceylon,  said  Mr.  Thurston,  would  give 
thousands  of  rupees  to  any  thief  who  would  steal 
that  relic  and  convey  it  to  them.  And  there  are 
thousands  of  thieves  in  Southern  India  who  would 
■willingly  undertake  the  job  if  they  could  do  so  with 
any  hope  of  success.  But  the  incomparable  treasure 
is  closely  watched. 

Among  the  other  interesting  objects  in  the  Mu- 
seum at  Madras  are  many  old  brasses  taken  from 
temples  and  elsewhere,  and  illustrating  the  earlier 
art-work  of  Buddhism, — especially  an  elaborate 
candelabrum  with  a very  spirited  figure  of  a dancing 
Siva  in  bronze.  Of  another  order  is  the  wooden  cage 
in  which  Captain  Arbuthnot  was  confined  for  seven 


263 


Madras  and  Fort  George 

months  during  the  Chinese  war  of  1840-42.  A 
melancholy  interest  attached  to  the  skin  of  a cobra 
kept  in  a large  jar  of  alcohol,  because  its  former 
occupant  had  fifteen  years  ago  killed  Dr.  Thurston’s 
cook,  who  stepped  on  the  snake  as  he  entered  the 
cook-house  in  the  dark. 

Dr.  Thurston  had  the  same  story  to  tell  of  the 
untrustworthy  character  of  not  only  his  house- 
servants,  but  also  of  his  assistants  in  the  Museum ; 
and  also  of  the  impossibility,  except  in  rare  instances, 
of  training  this  untrustworthiness  out  of  them.  And, 
indeed,  it  only  disappears  when  a quite  radical 
change  is  effected  in  the  underlying  motives  and 
views  of  life,  by  the  introduction  in  the  center  of 
the  personal  life  of  religious  convictions  and  princi- 
ples. How  shall  a man  be  much  better  at  heart  than 
the  god  he  worships,  however  he  may  be  restrained 
by  conventional  and  legal  considerations?  But  we 
have  probably  already  said  enough  upon  this  im- 
portant point. 

During  our  entire  stay  in  Madras  we  were  enter- 
tained with  that  delightful  hospitality  which,  without 
fuss  or  formality,  makes  one  feel  thoroughly  welcome 
and  at  home.  We  were  all  the  time  meeting  with 
incidents  and  with  persons  to  throw  side-lights  on  the 
character  of  the  life  led  in  Southern  India  by  the 
cultivated  and  the  ignorant,  by  the  rich  and  the  poor, 
of  both  the  native  and  the  foreign  population.  At 
a dinner  given  by  Justice  Shephard,  whose  house  was 


2 6 1 Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

situated  about  a mile  be}'ond  the  cathedral  of  St. 
Thome  and  had  for  its  nearest  neighbor  our  widely 
known  theosophist  countryman,  Col.  Olcott,  we  met 
a score  or  more  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  belonging 
to  the  official  class.  The  menu  here  had  for  the 
dessert  a very  unusual  stimulant.  For  after  the 
ladies  had  retired  to  the  drawing-room  and  the 
men  were  about  finishing  smoking  and  talking  around 
the  table,  our  host,  addressing  the  custodian  of  the 
Museum  who  was  an  authority  on  the  subject  said: 
“Thurston,  step  out  here  and  see  what  kind  of  a 
snake  this  is  which  my  boys  killed  on  the  compound 
near  the  house  this  afternoon.”  We  all  went  through 
the  doors  that  opened  upon  a brick-paved  verandah 
only  a step  or  two  above  the  level  of  the  ground, 
and  there  stood  three  turbaned  men  holding  up  by 
three  strings — one  at  the  middle,  one  at  the  tail, 
and  one  at  the  head — a reptile  of  very  respectable 
size  and  length.  “It  is  a tic-polonga,  or  Russel’s 
viper,”  said  this  authority  on  snakes,  the  moment 
he  set  eyes  upon  it.  Now  I had  learned  at  the 
“zoo”  in  Madras,  where  one  of  the  most  famous 
collections  of  poisonous  snakes  is  on  exhibition,  that 
the  tic-polonga  is  rather  more  to  be  shunned  and 
dreaded  than  is  his  rival,  the  cobra.  For  the  boy, 
who  was  anxious  to  increase  his  fees  by  exhibiting 
his  skill  in  handling  poisonous  snakes,  wanted  more 
annas  for  entering  the  glass  cage  where  were  kept 
the  largest  of  the  tic-polongas,  than  for  venturing 
among  the  cobras.  He  got  his  fee  from  us ; but 


Madras  and  Fort  George 


265 


not  for  risking  his  life  among  either  den  of  reptiles 
with  deadly  fangs  and  uncertain  tempers. 

Another  most  interesting  and  improving  dinner- 
party was  the  one  at  which  I met  ten  or  twelve  of 
a Synod  of  English  Wesleyan  missionaries  whose 
stations  were  in  the  country  surrounding  the  city 
of  Madras.  One  of  these  gentlemen  told  me  the 
story  of  his  experiences  in  the  native  state  of  Mysore, 
which,  after  having  been  taken  over  by  the  English, 
was  restored  to  the  hereditary  Raja,  after  he  had 
been  well  educated  under  cai'efully  selected  English 
tutors.  As  a result,  the  state  of  Mysore  was  being 
exceedingly  well  governed.  On  the  other  hand,  an- 
other missionary  told  of  the  Prince  of  Arcot,  who 
is  kept  in  or  near  Madras  and  away  from  his  people ; 
but  is  being  pensioned  at  the  rate  of  Rs.  10,000  a 
month  by  the  British  Government.  Several  thousand 
of  the  Muhammadans  belonging  to  the  former  retinue 
of  this  native  prince  were  also  being  liberally  pen- 
sioned. My  informant  regarded  this  as  being,  even 
if  necessary,  a monstrous  evil  and  intolerable  bur- 
den for  the  people  of  India,  who  have  to  support 
this  system  of  pensioning  Hindu  and  Muhammadan 
princes.  All  this  confirmed  my  opinion  that  a pa- 
ternal native  government,  under  supervision  and  by 
carefully  trained  and  selected  native  officials,  must 
be  the  best  solution  available  for  a long  time  to 
come,  for  such  cases  as  the  native  states  of  India, 
for  the  Philippines,  and  for  Korea. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  stay  in  Madras  we 


266  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

were  the  guests  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pittendrigh,  in 
whose  house  Dr.  Miller  and  Rev.  Mr.  Weston — both 
most  agreeable  and  kindly  companions — were  living 
at  the  time.  Their  compound  and  its  mansion  were 
of  a sort  to  be  found  only  in  the  tropics  where  Euro- 
peans have  settled  for  a long  time,  and  so  have 
learned  how  best  to  adapt  their  ideas  of  sanitary 
and  comfortable  living  to  the  rigorous  conditions 
imposed  by  climate,  native  customs,  and  the  limita- 
tions coupled  with  the  luxuriousness  of  available  sup- 
plies of  service,  food,  furnishings,  and  other  house- 
hold expenses.  This  was  one  of  those  very  large 
old  compounds,  shaded  with  tropical  foliage,  and  a 
commodious  and  solidly  built  old  house  (our  room 
was  fully  forty  feet  in  length)  which  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  you  may  occasionally  find  a scorpion  in 
your  shoe  or  a cobra  on  your  front  stairs,  and  always 
have  to  fight  the  destruction  of  all  wood-work  by  the 
white  ants,  has  no  superior  for  contributing  to  the 
joy  of  just  living  and  doing  your  modicum  of  the 
daily  tasks. 

Besides  the  regular  course  of  lectures  at  the  Chris- 
tian College  of  Madras,  but  under  the  auspices  of 
the  Madras  University,  I gave  a number  of  other 
conferences,  talks,  and  public  addresses,  before  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  audiences, — but  all  of  them  exhibiting 
in  their  attention  and  in  their  questions  a high  de- 
gree of  intelligence  and  interest.  Of  these  one  of 
the  very  best  was  composed  of  one  hundred  mem- 


267 


Madras  and  Fort  George 

bers  of  the  “Teachers’  Guild,”  to  whom  I spoke  on 
“American  Universities.”  The  magnificence  of  the 
sums  expended  in  buildings  and  equipment  in  this 
country  amazed  my  audience ; but  were  I compelled 
to  speak  again  on  the  same  subject  before  the  same 
audience,  I fear  that  the  obligations  of  truthfulness 
would  require  an  even  less  favorable  account  of  the 
net  result  in  scholarship  and  character  of  all  this 
vast  expenditure. 

The  day  of  the  last  lecture  came,  on  the  morrow  of 
which  we  were  to  leave  Madras  and  go  still  farther 
southward  on  our  way  back  to  Ceylon.  The  audience 
was  larger  and  more  enthusiastic  than  at  any  time 
before.  After  the  lecture  was  finished,  two  natives 
— one  a Christian-College  man  who  was  in  the  civil 
sendee,  and  the  other  a prominent  Hindu  barrister 
—moved  and  seconded  a vote  of  thanks  which  was 
carried  with  much  show  of  enthusiasm.  But  the 
most  interesting  and  encouraging  result  of  the  work 
in  Madras  was  the  fact  that  both  of  these  speakers, 
and  the  majority  of  the  audience,  seemed  to  com- 
prehend and  sympathize  with,  in  a truly  astonishing 
way,  what  it  had  been  the  half-suppressed  but  deeper 
purpose  of  the  lectures  to  accomplish. 

We  left  Madras  on  the  last  day  of  winter,  with 
the  thermometer  standing  every  day  well  up*  around 
the  nineties,  and  somewhat  worn  out  with  the  entire 
winter’s  experiences.  But  we  bade  farewell  with 
sincere  regret  to  the  group-  of  friends  who  came  to 


268  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

the  station  to  see  us  off.  We  were  to  share  the 
compartment  with  a Lutheran  missionary  and  his 
wife,  who  were  on  their  way  to  Colombo  to  take  the 
steamer  Oldenburg  to  return  to  the  United  States. 
And  although  I found  my  upper  berth  too  narrow 
for  a perfectly  safe  lodgement,  I did  not  tumble  out 
until  we  pulled  into  the  station  at  Madura. 


CHAPTER  XII 


MADURA  AND  SOUTHERN  INDIA 

HE  city  of  Madura,  although  it  has  neither  the 


size  nor  the  attractions  of  the  three  Presidency 
cities  and  is  comparatively  rarely  visited  by  the 
foreign  tourist,  is  nevertheless,  when  fairly  judged  by 
its  history  and  its  local  interests,  “no  mean  city.” 
It  was  the  capital  of  the  old  Pandyan  dynasty,  which 
continued  its  dynastic  rule  for  a far  longer  period 
than  is  granted  to  most  forms  of  government;  for  it 
held  sway  over  all  this  part  of  India  from  the  5th 
century  B.C.  to  the  end  of  the  11th  century  A.D. 
The  last  of  the  old  Pandyan  kings  showed  the  vigor 
of  his  Hindu  ancestors  by  exterminating  the  Jains 
and  conquering  the  neighboring  kingdom  of  Chola. 
Rut  the  power  of  the  Mogul  Empire  was  creeping  or 
storming  farther  southward,  and  the  king  of  Madura 
was  himself  overthrown  by  an  invader  from  the 
North.  After  a Moslem  army  had  held  the  Hindus 
of  the  city  and  district  in  subjection  for  a period 
of  years,  the  province  passed  again  under  Hindu 
rule.  In  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  its 
governor,  Viswanath,  established  the  so-called  Nayak 


269 


270  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

Dynasty.  It  was  the  greatest  of  this  line  whose 
military  exploits  are  recorded  in  the  correspondence 
of  the  Jesuit  missionaries;  who  adorned  Madura  with 
its  temples  and  public  buildings ; and  who  extended 
his  empire  widely  over  the  adjoining  districts.  In 
1736  the  District  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  nawab 
of  the  Karnatik,  and  the  line  of  the  Nayaks  was 
extinguished.  Twenty  years  later  the  English  took 
charge  of  Madura  in  the  alleged  trust  for  a Muham- 
madan prince.  But  he  was  the  last  independent 
native  ruler  of  the  Karnatik ; for  his  son  ceded  his 
rights  of  sovereignty  to  the  British  East  India 
Company  in  1801.  From  the  history  of  Madura 
learn  in  brief  the  history  of  all  of  Southern  India. 

At  the  station  we  were  met  by  Mr.  Chandler  who 
took  us  to  the  mission-compound  of  the  American 
Board  where  we  had  breakfast  and  a brief  rest.  As 
soon  as  the  fiercest  midday  heat  had  somewhat  sub- 
sided, or  rather  as  soon  as  the  sun  was  not  quite  so 
much  overhead  and  so  able  to  execute  its  most  direct 
and  mortal  strokes,  we  visited  the  schools  in  the  com- 
pound, had  tea,  and  then  at  five  o’clock  went  to 
the  church  near  by  where  a “welcome  service,”  na- 
tive fashion,  was  to  be  held.  This  consisted  of 
prayer  , the  singing  of  Tamil  lyrics,  the  reading  of  a 
printed  address  in  English  by  one  of  the  native 
teachers,  and  the  presentation  of  a palm-leaf  manu- 
script in  Tamil.  This  manuscript  I at  first  took 
for  an  ancient  treasure;  but  it  was  soon  discovered 


Madura  and  Southern  India  271 

to  be  a very  modern  affair.  It  had  just  been  pre- 
pared in  imitation  of  original  antiques  by  some  of 
the  native  caligraphists  and  contained  the  address 
of  welcome,  the  Lord’s  Prayer,  and  a variety  of  other 
things.  It  was  designed  for  deposit  in  the  Yale 
University  Library.  After  these  welcome  exercises 
I made  a brief  response. 

The  Brahmans  of  good  caste  in  Madura  were  the 
most  conspicuously  “liberal”  in  their  intercourse  with 
the  missionaries  and  other  Christians  of  good  social 
standing,  of  any  men  of  their  class  whom  we  meet 
during  our  travels  in  India.  They  had  given  gener- 
ously to  a hospital  which  was  conducted  without 
interference  from  them  under  Christian  auspices ; 
and  they  had  co-operated  cordially  in  a street- 
preaching campaign  against  intemperance.  The 
Hindu  Club  which  was  formed  chiefly  by  these  Brah- 
man gentlemen  invited  us  and  our  hosts — not  omit- 
ting the  ladies — to  take  afternoon  tea  on  their 
grounds  in  the  suburbs  of  the  city,  where  we  were 
politely  served  in  the  open  air  near  the  tennis- 
court.  So  faithful  to  their  temperance  principles 
are  the  gentlemen  of  the  Hindu  Club  that  they  do  not 
allow  drink  of  any  kind  except  tea  to  be  served  on  its 
premises, — not  even  soda-water  in  bottles ; in  order, 
as  they  explained,  to  avoid  suspicion  and  even  “the 
seeming  of  evil.”  Instead,  everything  in  our  enter- 
tainment was  carried  on  in  a fashion  not  to  be 
distinguished  from  the  most  strictly  Pharisaical  of 


272  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

Christian  gatherings, — with  one  exception  however. 
The  Brahmans  did  not  drink  tea  with  us  or  serve  even 
the  ladies  of  our  party  by  pouring  and  passing  tea 
for  them.  To  do  this  would  have  been  to  break 
caste.  But  if  there  are  to  be  lines  drawn  in  the 
name  of  religion  between  friends  and  social  equals, 
of  a ceremonial  character,  what  fault  can  Christian 
sects  find  with  these  Brahman  gentlemen?  One  must 
draw  the  line  somewhere;  if  it  is  once  for  all  granted 
that  any  line  of  this  character  is  anywhere  to  be 
drawn.  And  to  break  the  bread  of  social  com- 
munion with  those  who  had  no  caste  standing  was  to 
render  oneself  justly  liable  to  excommunication.  Yet, 
when  on  the  following  evening  I spoke  concerning 
“the  Conception  of  God  most  in  accord  with  Science 
and  Philosophy”  to  an  audience  which  crowded  the 
hall  of  the  Young  Men’s  Christian  Association,  a 
native  Hindu  Judge  presided,  and  these  high-caste 
Brahmans  were  of  the  most  intelligent  and  apprecia- 
tive of  the  audience. 

In  the  evening1  of  this  first  dav  in  Madura  I told 
to  the  weekly  gathering  of  the  missionaries  of  the 
region  at  the  house  of  our  host  my  observations  in 
Japan.  For,  as  there  has  been  occasion  to  remark 
before,  all  classes  in  India  were  then  especially  in- 
terested in  the  impressive  spectacle  of  the  rapid 
changes  and  advances  in  civilization  afforded  by  this 
Far-Eastern  nation,  and  in  its  probable  influence  as 
a stirring  example  for  all  the  other  Oriental  peo- 
ples. 


Madura  and  Southern  India  273 

The  next  morning  we  drove  to  Passumalia,  stop- 
ping on  the  way  to  visit  the  palace  of  Tirumala 
Nayak  and  the  mission-schools  in  that  quarter  of 
Madura.  This  palace  seemed  to  us  one  of  the  most 
interesting  sights  of  its  kind  in  all  Southern  India. 
The  prince  who  was  its  builder  was  one  of  the  great- 
est rulers  of  the  District  of  Madura, — “the  greatest 
of  all  in  modem  times,”  he  has  been  called — and 
his  rule  lasted  gloriously  for  nearly  forty  years. 
The  palace  itself  has  been  restored  by  the  English 
so  thoroughly  that  it  is  now  one  of  the  finest  public 
buildings  in  all  India.  Some  of  its  halls,  when  in 
their  original  perfection  of  finish  and  decoration 
must  have  been  truly  magnificent.  What  was  the 
throne-room,  a court  under  the  Grand  Dome,  is  61 
feet  in  diameter  and  73  feet  high.  There  are  four 
holes  in  the  middle  of  the  roof  of  the  room,  54  feet 
high,  which  was  Tirumala’s  bedchamber.  I quote 
the  legend  that  “Tirumala’s  cot  was  suspended  from 
hooks  fixed  in  the  four  holes,  and  that  the  large  hole 
between  the  two  holes  on  the  southern  side  of  the 
room  was  made  by  a thief  who  descended  by  the  chain 
suspending  that  corner  of  the  cot  and  stole  the  crown 
jewels.  Tirumala  is  said  to  have  offered  an  heredi- 
tary estate  to  the  thief,  if  he  would  restore  the 
jewels,  adding  that  no  questions  would  be  asked.  On 
recovering  the  jewels,  he  kept  his  word,  but  ordered 
the  man  to  be  decapitated!”  The  British  now  use 
the  building  as  a palais  de  justice;  but  as  their  cus- 
tom too  offten  is,  they  have  shown  an  utter  indiffer- 


274  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  m India 

ence  to  all  aesthetical  considerations  by  cutting  off 
all  the  beautiful  vistas  on  all  sides  of  the  court,  and 
fencing  off  the  offices  with  dirty  and  ragged  screens 
set  up  between  the  pillars.  It  is  no  insignificant 
remnant  of  barbarism,  or  slight  handicap  of  the  most 
cordial  relations,  for  the  governing  race  to  show 
this  kind  of  indifference  to  the  subtler  feeling  of  the 
governed. 

At  Passumalia  we  were  shown  over  the  different 
branches  of  a thoroughly  well  organized  and  highly 
successful  missionary  work ; after  which  I spoke  to 
the  whole  body  of  students  and  teachers,  some  500 
in  number,  in  their  large  hall.  The  singing  was 
extremely  interesting,  especially  a Tamil  lyric  with 
a violin  accompaniment  and  the  rhythm  strongly 
marked  by  striking  together  a small  pair  of  cymbals. 
The  tempo  seemed  to  me  as  strictly  as  possible  seven 
equal  notes  to  the  measure,  rather  than  a sequence 
of  four  and  three.  The  effect  was  very  peculiar 
and  made  one  feel  as  though  one  must  spring  to  one’s 
feet  and  sway  one’s  body  and  dance  in  truly  heathen- 
ish fashion.  It  was  easy  to  see  how  such  music  could 
work  a multitude  of  singers  into  a kind  of  frenzy. 
And,  indeed,  we  did  see  how  such  an  effect  was  actu- 
ally attained  when  we  witnessed  an  exhibition  given 
on  shipboard  by  a band  of  devil-dancers  who  were 
on  their  way  to  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1900. 

At  breakfast  there  was  rather  a warm  discussion 
over  the  best  way  of  educating  the  natives,  during 


Madura  and  Southern  India  275 

which  it  became  apparent  that  Southern  India  is  not 
afflicted  to  the  same  extent  as  Bengal  with  a super- 
fluity of  habus. 

After  returning  to  Madura  in  the  almost  intoler- 
able sunshine  and  taking  a brief  rest  we  visited  the 
“Great  Temple,”  the  most  beautiful  portions  of  which 
as  it  now  stands  were  built  by  this  same  Tirumala 
Nayak  who  built  the  great  palace  already  described. 
This  famous  structure  forms  a parallelogram  of  847 
feet  by  729  feet,  surrounded  by  nine  gopuras.  (py- 
ramidal towers)  over  the  temple  gateways  and  con- 
structed in  the  Dravidian  style,  of  which  the  largest 
is  152  feet  high.  With  its  grounds  this  enormous 
temple  covers  thirteen  acres  and  is  exceedingly 
wealthy  in  revenue  and  resources.  As  being  one  of 
the  finest  of  its  type,  and  the  only  other  ones  ap- 
proaching it  in  size  and — albeit  somewhat  tawdry — 
magnificence,  not  situated  near  enough  our  route  to 
be  visited,  it  merits  a brief  description.  The  entire 
Great  Temple  of  Madura  really  consists  of  two  parts, 
or  temples,  one  on  the  East  dedicated  to  Minakshi, 
“the  fish-eyed  goddess”  who  was  one  of  the  con- 
sorts of  Shiva,  and  the  other  to  the  god  Shiva 
himself,  the  member  of  the  Hindu  Trinity  who  rep- 
resents “the  ascetic,  dark,  awful,  bloody  side”  of  the 
Hindu  religion.  The  worship  of  the  Shivaites  here 
and  elsewhere  in  India  is  always  tending  toward 
what  is  most  beastly  and  cruel  and  lustful  in  the  most 
degraded  conceivable  forms  of  religious  cult.  The 


276  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

entrance  to  Minakshi’s  temple  is  by  a gate  and 
through  a painted  corridor  about  thirty  feet  long, 
which  is  called  the  Hall  of  the  Eight  Lakshmis,  from 
eight  statues  of  the  goddess  by  that  name,  which  form 
the  supports  of  the  roof  on  either  side.  This  corri- 
dor is  used  freely  as  a bazaar  by  various  sorts  of 
traders  and  money-changers.  The  temple  itself  is  a 
maze  of  corridors  and  rooms  used  for  various  pur- 
poses opening  off  fi’om  them,  with  rows  of  elaborately 
carved  pillars  on  either  side.  Some  of  the  capitals 
of  the  pillars  are  formed  with  a curved  plantain- 
flower  as  a bracket, — a fashion  which  is  found  else- 
where in  the  Dravidian  temple  architecture.  By 
some  this  is  called  “the  Hindu  cornucopia.”  One  of 
these  corridors  is  166  feet  long  and  runs  up  against 
a large  door  of  brass  that  has  stands  to  hold  a multi- 
tude of  lamps  which  at  night  furnish  it  with  “a  dim 
religious  light.” 

The  number  of  bazaars  in  this  temple  is  amazing 
and  the  revenue  from  them  is,  as  we  have  already 
indicated,  very  large.  One  interesting  trick  for  in- 
creasing this  revenue  in  other  ways  than  by  the 
profits  from  the  bazaars  is  to  make  public  announce- 
ment that  the  goddess,  to  whom  the  temple  is  dedi- 
cated, will  be  taken  out  of  her  special  room  some 
night  at  eleven  o’clock  and  conveyed  to  the  bed- 
chamber of  the  god.  A great  crowd  gathers  and 
pays  liberally  to  see  the  marriage  ceremony.  But 
something  unpropitious,  such  as  the  sneezing  of  a 


Madura  and  Southern  India  277 

Brahman,  occurs  to  prevent  the  completion  of  the 
ceremony ; and  so  another  paying  festival  of  the 
sort  can  be  proclaimed  for  the  following  year. 

At  this  temple  some  of  the  most  degrading  prac- 
tices of  the  popular  Hinduism,  such  as  the  prostitu- 
tion of  the  Nautch  girls  and  the  seduction  of  women 
by  the  priests  are  still  kept  up  pretty  much  as  in  the 
earlier  times ; and  there  is  the  same  lack  of  any  sort 
of  religious  feeling  which  was  to  be  noted  under 
similar  surroundings  at  Benares.  In  both  these 
positive  and  negative  ways  the  popular  Hinduism 
in  India  is  greatly  inferior  to  the  popular  Buddhism 
in  Japan. 

We  had  an  amusing  experience  with  the  sacred 
elephants  of  the  Great  Temple  of  Madura.  At  first, 
one  of  them  was  introduced  by  his  keeper  as  ready 
to  perform  for  us  in  consideration  of  suitable  back- 
shish; but  he  failed  utterly  to  earn  his  money  by 
doing  any  tricks,  not  even  picking  up  the  two-anna 
bit  thrown  down  on  the  ground  before  him.  But  no 
sooner  was  it  known  that  foreign  sahibs,  willing  and 
able  to  pay  well  for  such  entertainment,  were  touring 
the  temple— and  the  news  of  it  seemed  to  diffuse  itself 
everywhere  almost  instantaneously— when  all  the 
other  elephants  kept  appearing  athwart  our  path, 
and  began  without  entering  into  any  preliminary 
negotiations  or  efforts  at  a contract  to  show  them- 
selves off.  One  of  them,  a huge  she-elephant,  was 
most  amusing.  She  trumpeted,  she  danced,  she 


278  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  m India 

hopped  about  on  three  legs,  and  all  in  fine  style.  She 
received  her  well-merited  fee,  which  she  promptly  and 
dexterously  picked  up  from  the  ground. 

Near  the  temple  is  a tank,  almost  as  celebrated 
and  elaborate  in  its  way  as  is  the  temple  itself.  It 
is  called  the  “Tank  of  the  Golden  Lilies.”  In  the 
center  of  an  island  surrounded  by  the  waters  of 
the  Great  Tank  stands  a picturesque  temple.  There 
is  a chamber  in  the  tank  built  by  the  queen  Mangam- 
mal,  who  according  to  tradition  was  seized  and 
starved  to  death  by  her  subjects  about  1796  A.D. 
These  cruel  rebels,  while  starving,  also  tortured  their 
queen  by  placing  food  so  close  to  her  that  she  could 
see  and  smell  but  was  unable  to  reach  it.  A statue 
of  her  Brahman  lover  may  be  seen  on  the  West  side 
of  the  Tank;  and  on  the  ceiling  there  is  the  portrait 
of  the  paramour  opposite  the  portrait  of  his  royal 
mistress.  Two  sides  of  the  wall  of  this  corridor  are 
somewhat  gaudily  painted  with  representations  of 
some  of  the  most  famous  pagodas  of  India.  On  one 
side  is  a belfry  with  an  American  bell  of  good  tone. 
Of  the  twelve  pillars  sculptured  on  the  sides  of  the 
corridor,  six  represent  a strange  monster  called  Yali, 
the  conventionalized  lion  of  the  South  of  India. 

The  most  interesting  feature  of  the  Great  Temple 
taken  in  its  broadest  expanse  is  the  Hall  of  a Thou- 
sand Pillars.  As  a matter  of  fact,  the  number  is 
said  to  count  up  only  997,  many  of  which  are  hidden 
from  view,  since  the  intervals  between  them  have 


THE  TANK  OF  T1IE  GOLDEN  LILIES 


Madura  and  Southern  India  279 

been  bricked  up  to  form  granaries  for  the  pagoda. 
It  is  not,  however,  the  number  but  the  marvelously 
elaborate  nature  of  the  carvings  which  makes  this 
Hall  with  its  one  thousand  pillars  so  famous.  Its 
builder,  who  was  Minister  of  the  Founder  of  the 
dynasty,  is  represented  near  the  entrance  seated  like 
a skillful  rider  on  a rearing  horse.  But  perhaps  the 
most  noteworthy  of  all  is  the  building  called  Tiru- 
mala’s  Choultrie,  the  New  Gallery  dedicated  to  the 
presiding  deity  of  the  place,  who  was  fabled  to  pay 
the  ruler  a visit  of  ten  days  annually.  This  hall  has 
four  rows  of  pillars  supporting  a flat  roof.  Tiru- 
mala  is  distinguished  by  having  a canopy  over 
him;  and  on  his  left  is  his  wife,  the  Princess  of  Tan- 
jore. 

This  extravagance  of  size  and  riot  of  decoration 
in  the  use  of  mythical  forms,  animal  and  divine,  are 
especially  characteristic  of  the  temples  and  pagodas 
of  Southern  India.  To  the  student  of  anthropology, 
of  comparative  religion,  and  of  the  history  of  social 
evolution,  Southern  India  offers  some  of  his  most 
complicated  and  difficult  problems.  The  peoples  and 
their  family  of  languages,  which  are  divided  into 
not  fewer  than  a dozen  more  or  less  closely  related 
dialects  of  which  Tamil  and  Telegu  are  spoken  by 
the  greatest  number,  are  designated  “Dravidian,”  a 
term  derived  from  the  Sanskrit.  They  are  a dark- 
skinned  race,  and,  so  far  as  can  be  known  with 
any  assurance,  they  are  the  aborigines  in  the  strictest 


280  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

sense  of  the  word,  of  all  the  southern  part  of  the 
continent  and  extending  over  into  the  northern  half 
of  the  island  of  Ceylon.  The  nearer  we  come  to 
their  aboriginal  condition,  the  more  isolated  from  all 
other  peoples,  in  their  physical  characteristics,  their 
customs,  and  their  language,  do  the  Dra, vidian  peo- 
ples appear.  But  as  the  fair-skinned,  more  intelli- 
gent and  highly  developed  Aryans  extended  their 
conquests  and  their  superior  type  of  living  to  the 
southward,  they  overruled  but  mixed  with  the  dark- 
skinned  and  relatively  wild  and  savage  Dravidians. 
That  happened  which  always  happens ; the  superior 
race  modified  but  did  not  wholly  destroy  the  charac- 
teristics of  the  inferior  race.  When  Portuguese  and 
French  and  Dutch  and  English  were  for  two  hundred 
years  contending  for  supremacy  in  trade,  in  posses- 
sion of  territory  and  influence  over  the  native  rulers, 
and  even  for  success  in  the  propagation  of  their 
favored  forms  of  religion,  the  process  of  modifica- 
tion went  on  apace.  It  is  going  on  at  the  present 
time.  But  it  has  never  been  complete.  There  are 
today  tribes  of  naked  savages  living  in  trees,  wor- 
shippers of  the  cobra  who  regard  this  snake  as  the 
ancestor  of  the  tribe  and  look  upon  it  as  their  totem, 
and  appoint  groves  for  its  habitation,  where  it  is 
fed  at  the  public  expense  and  has  its  established 
shrines,  and  practicers  of  all  manner  of  strange 
and  grossly  heathenish  customs,  among  the  descend- 
ants of  the  original  dwellers  in  “the  medley  of 


Madura  and  Southern  India 


281 


forest-clad  ranges,  terraced  plateaus,  and  undulat- 
ing plains,”  which  stretches  across  this  part  of  India. 
But  on  this  very  account,  Southern  India  has  a 
certain  fascination  due  to  its  weirdness  and  uncanny 
nature  that  is  lacking  to  most  of  Northern  India. 
Among  the  Dravidian  peoples,  the  popular  Hinduism, 
too,  is  of  all  places  most  bestial  and  grossly  licen- 
tious, as  has  already  been  said.  The  same  fact  will 
be  further  put  in  evidence  when  we  come  to  describe 
our  brief  visits  in  Ceylon,  where  devil-worship  is  an 
affliction  into  which  the  converts  to  Christianity  even 
down  to  the  third  and  fourth  generations  may  not 
infrequently  suffer  a relapse.  And  yet  that  is  true 
of  the  dark-skinned  Dravidians,  which  is  true  of  the 
dark-skinned  races  generally,  they  are  capable  of  de- 
veloping some  very  amiable  traits  and  of  receiving  a 
good  degree  of  intellectual  and  sesthetical  develop- 
ment. 

On  the  morning  of  March  3d  I made  an  address — 
the  fifth  within  forty-eight  hours — to  the  native  pas- 
tors of  Madura  and  the  vicinity,  and  then  we  took 
the  eleven  o’clock  train  for  Tuticorin.  The  heat 
was  something  frightful,  the  thermometer  standing 
at  above  one  hundred  in  the  railway  car.  A visitor 
to  Tuticorin  in  the  sixteenth  century  mentions  its 
fame  as  the  center  for  pearl  fisheries.  At  that  time 
the  fishers  and  divers  were  mostly  native  Christians. 
But  because  of  the  deepening  of  the  channel  these 
banks  no  longer  produce  pearl-oysters  in  remunera- 


282  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

tive  quantities ; but  “chank-shells”  are  still  found 
here  and  exported  to  Bengal. 

The  anchorage  at  Tuticorin  is  no  less  than  five 
miles  from  the  shore;  but  by  paying  what  seemed 
rather  an  exorbitant  fee  for  “embarkation,”  we 
reached  the  little  steamer  “Hindu”  in  fairly  comfort- 
able fashion.  It  turned  out,  however,  that  there  were 
only  five  cabins  in  the  entire  ship ; these  were  not 
nearly  enough  to  accommodate  the  number  of  first- 
class  passengers  booked  for  this  trip.  The  number 
of  this  class  was  much  greater  than  usual,  since  a 
homeward-bound  steamer  was  sailing  the  following 
day  from  Colombo.  “The  lady”  was  therefore  sent 
to  one  of  the  cabins  allotted  to  the  somewhat  mis- 
cellaneous crowd  of  her  sex,  and  I was  assigned  to  the 
same  cabin  with  the  Bishop  of  Madagascar.  This 
right-reverend  gentleman,  however,  while  disclaiming 
all  personal  prejudice  against  me,  insisted  that  he 
must  have  his  secretary  with  him  and  wanted  the 
captain  to  order  me  and  my  luggage  moved  out.  To 
this  I did  not  give  a ready  assent ; although  I,  too, 
had  no  personal  prejudice  against  Portuguese  or 
French  or  any  other  nationality  of  bishops.  But 
the  affair  settled  itself  in  the  most  amicable  and 
satisfactory  manner.  For  it  was  found  that  the 
berths  were  much  to  narrow  to  accommodate  a per- 
son of  such  corporal,  not  to  say  ecclesiastical,  pro- 
portions, as  the  Bishop  of  Madagascar;  and  so  a 
tent  was  erected  on  the  upper  deck  and  within  it 


Madura  and  Southern  India  283 

cots  set  up  for  the  Bishop  and  his  secretary,  while 
I was  left  sole  occupant  of  a two-berth  cabin ; for 
it  proved  too  late  to  call  back  my  wife. 

The  terrors  of  the  passage  on  account  of  rough 
water  were  nought ; but  the  discomforts  of  landing 
at  Colombo  were  considerable.  We  were  kept  waiting 
so  long  by  the  quarantine  doctor  who,  before  he 
would  release  the  first-cabin  passengers,  inspected  in 
such  a thoroughly  leisurely  way  (I  cannot  say  with 
how  much  medical  thoroughness)  the  several  hun- 
dred coolies  on  board  the  “Hindu,”  that  the  friend- 
ly host  who  had  come  out  to  meet  us  with  a boat  was 
obliged  to  go  off  without  his  guests.  We  hailed  a 
sampan,  however,  and  were  fairly  pitched  into  it  with 
all  of  our  luggage  except  one  piece,  a Gladstone 
bag.  One  of  the  coolies  in  another  sampan  had 
grabbed  and  made  off  with  this, — a species  of  black- 
mail which  an  appeal  to  a police-man,  when  we  had 
reached  the  jetty,  prevented  the  rascal  from  making 
profitable.  The  customs-officer  did  not  even  ask  us 
to  open  our  trunks  or  bags ; thus  before  long  we  had 
secured  a garry  and  a bullock-cart  and  were  on 
our  rather  lengthy  journey  to  the  house  of  the  mis- 
sionary where  we  had  been  entertained  on  our  visit 
to  Ceylon  four  months  before.  But  since  two  mis- 
sionaries of  his  Board  were  occupying  the  accom- 
modations of  the  house  until  they  could  take  Mon- 
day’s steamer  for  England,  and  since  the  Galle  Face 
Hotel  was  full,  and  far  away,  Mr.  Tarrant,  of  the 


284*  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 


firm  of  forwarding  and  commission  merchants,  Tar- 
rant, Henderson  & Co.,  who  then  lived  at  “Temple 
Trees,”  a bungalow  near  by,  kindly  offered  to  take 
us  in  for  Sunday  night.  Our  adventures  that  night 
and  subsequently  belong  to  the  next  and  concluding 
chapter. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


CEYLON  AND  HOMEWARD-BOUND 

T N geological  formation,  climate,  social  and  re- 
ligious  customs  and  institutions,  and  in  civil  and 
political  history,  the  Island  of  Ceylon  is  closely  re- 
lated to  Southern  India.  The  aborigines,  or  at  least 
the  inhabitants  for  untold  ages  previous  to  authentic 
history,  were  probably  the  ancestors  of  a tribe  of 
hunters  who  still  inhabit  some  of  the  eastern  jungles. 
The  great  Hindu  epic,  Ramayana,  tells  how  its  hero 
Rama  conquered  part  of  the  island  and  took  the 
capital  of  its  king.  It  is  doubtful,  however,  whether 
this  boast  of  Hinduism  represents  the  truth  of  his- 
tory. Buddhism,  which  still  shares  with  the  popular 
Hinduism  and  the  most  superstitious  forms  of  devil- 
worship  the  allegiance  of  the  lower  orders  of  the 
people,  was  early  and  more  permanently  planted  in 
Ceylon.  Its  conversion  to  Buddhism  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  third  century  is  still  marked  by  the  mul- 
tiplication of  the  dagliobas,  or  curious  bell-shaped 
reliquaries  of  solid  stone,  and  the  monasteries,  which 
meet  the  eye  of  the  foreign  tourist  on  every  hand. 
After  the  expulsion  of  the  religion  of  Sakya  Muni 

285 


286  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

from  India  by  the  revived  power  of  Hinduism,  Ceylon 
became  the  principal  seat  of  the  southern  and  most 
degraded  type  of  this  great  reformer’s  religion.  It 
remains  in  this  position  to  the  present  day;  and  this 
fact  gives  it  a peculiar  interest  to  the  student  of 
comparative  religion. 

The  Singhalese  rulers  of  Ceylon  and  their  fol- 
lowers, and  the  Tamil  rulers  of  South  India  and  their 
followers,  fought  and  invaded  each  other’s  dominions 
back  and  forth  through  several  centuries.  The  Por- 
tuguese, Dutch,  and  British  trade-interests  contended 
for  economic  supremacy  there  in  scarcely  less  deter- 
mined and  unscrupulous  fashion.  The  Portuguese  in 
Ceylon,  as  everywhere  else,  treated  the  native  rulers 
in  such  overbearing  and  tyrannical  fashion  as  to 
make  themselves  particularly  obnoxious.  When  the 
island  was  conquered  by  the  forces  of  the  East  India 
Company  it  was  at  first  made  a part  of  the  Com- 
pany’s south-Indian  jurisdiction,  and  administered 
from  Madras.  But  by  a convention  entered  into 
with  the  Kandyan  chiefs  inMarch,  1815,  the  complete 
sovereignty  of  Ceylon  passed  into  the  hands  of  the 
British,  who  guaranteed  the  inhabitants  civil  and 
religious  liberty,  and  who  there,  as  everywhere,  un- 
like the  Portuguese  and  their  modern  imitators  in  the 
management  of  colonies,  have  been  so  wise  and  liberal 
in  their  administration  that  no  serious  disturbance 
of  the  public  order  has  occurred  since. 

The  well-known  missionary  hymn  says  of  “Ceylon’s 


Ceylon  and  Homeward-Bound  287 

isle”  that  “every  prospect  pleases.”  But  let  us  quote 
the  more  expansive  and  rhetorical  description  of  Sir 
Edwin  Arnold.  “It  is  impossible,”  says  Arnold,  “to 
exaggerate  the  natural  beauty  of  Ceylon.  Belted 
with  a double  girdle  of  golden  sands  and  waving 
palm-groves,  the  interior  is  one  vast  green  garden 
of  nature,  deliciously  disposed  into  plain  and  high- 
land, valley  and  peak,  where  almost  everything 
grows  known  to  the  tropical  world,  under  a sky 
glowing  with  an  equitorial  sun,  yet  tempered  by  the 
cool  sea-winds.  Colombo  itself,  outside  the  actual 
town,  is  a perfect  labyrinth  of  shady  bowers  and 
flowery  streams  and  lakes.  For  miles  and  miles  you 
drive  about  under  arbours  of  feathery  bamboos, 
broad-leaved  bread-fruit  trees,  talipot  and  areca 
palms,  cocoa-nut  groves,  and  stretches  of  rice-field, 
sugar-cane  and  cinnamon,  amid  which  at  night  the 
fire-flies  dart  about  in  glittering  clusters.  The  lowest 
hut  is  embosomed  in  palm-fronds  and  the  bright 
crimson  blossoms  of  the  hibiscus ; while  wherever 
intelligent  cultivation  aids  the  prolific  force  of  na- 
ture, there  is  enough  in  the  profusion  of  nutmegs  and 
allspice,  of  the  india-rubbers  and  cinchonas,  of  can- 
nas,  dracanas,  crotons,  and  other  wonders  of  the 
Singalese  flora,  to  give  an  endless  and  delighted 
study  to  the  lover  of  nature.” 

It  should  be  recalled  at  this  point  that  this  was 
the  second  of  our  visits  to  Ceylon ; and  although  on 
the  first  visit  the  preceding  November  no  public  ad- 


288  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

dresses  had  been  arranged  for,  we  had  been  on  this 
very  account  much  more  at  liberty  to  study  some 
of  the  most  interesting  and  conspicuous  of  the  native 
characteristics  and  customs.  We  were  also  at  that 
time  particularly  fortunate  in  our  host,  Mr. 
Moscrop,  who  had  been  for  a long  time  in  Ceylon, 
in  a position  to  discover  the  secrets  of  the  native 
superstitious  beliefs  and  practices  much  more  authen- 
tically than  was  possible  for  the  average  long-time 
resident  among  them. 

The  missionary  hymn  already  referred  to  passes 
quickly  on  from  the  recognition  in  the  gross,  so  to 
say,  of  the  pleasing  aspects  of  this  part  of  the  world, 
to  the  declaration,  “and  only  man  is  vile.”  I was 
surprised,  then,  to  learn  that  fully  one-third  of  the 

150.000  inhabitants  of  the  City  of  Colombo  are 
Christians,  more  than  half  of  this  number,  about 

80.000  being  Roman  Catholics.  But  devil-worship 
is  still  very  common  and  persistent  all  over  Ceylon ; 
not  only  among  the  aboriginal  natives  but  also  among 
the  Tamils  and  Singhalese  of  the  better  classes,  some 
of  the  latter  relapsing  into  it  even  after  they  have 
become  professing  Christians.  My  host  narrated  in 
detail  three  instances  among  the  larger  number 
which  had  come  under  his  personal  observation. 

In  one  case  a Christian  girl,  who  was  the  daughter 
of  a native  pastor  and  whose  grandfather  even  had 
been  a Christian,  at  the  end  of  about  a year  of 
married  life  became  impressed  with  the  belief  that 


ONE  VAST  GREEN  GARDEN  OF  NATURE 


Ceylon  and  Homeward-Bound  289 

she  was  losing  the  affection  of  her  husband.  In- 
stead of  seeking  advice  from  her  own  pastor,  she 
secretly  consulted  with  a devil-priest  and  employed 
him  to  exorcise  the  evil  spirit  which  was  exert- 
ing this  alienating  influence.  With  great  show  of 
difficulty  and  of  the  expense  of  such  shepherd- 
ing of  his  flock,  the  priest  procured  a skull 
which  purported  to  be  that  of  a first-born  child 
also  of  a first-born,  for  three  or  four  generations 
back.  This  skull  he  ordered  to  be  placed  for  several 
successive  nights  in  the  crotch  of  a “demon-tree,”  in 
order  to  propitiate  the  demon  who  inhabited  it. 
Afterward,  the  skull  was  to  be  burned  under  the 
place  where  the  woman  cooked  her  husband’s  rice; 
and  as  she  stirred  the  rice  certain  incantations  were 
to  be  repeated.  The  woman  was  discovered  and  dis- 
ciplined for  her  relapse — poor  perplexed  soul ! — into 
heathenish  heresy,  but — I am  glad  to  report — much 
more  mildly  than  the  most  zealous  among  the  native 
brethren  and  sisters  of  the  church  thought  appro- 
priate. 

In  the  second  case,  a girl  had  been  having  con- 
vulsions that  were  supposed  to  be  caused  by  a demon 
which  had  taken  possession  of  her.  In  this  form  of 
belief  in  demon-possession  we  meet  everywhere  one 
of  the  most  ancient  and  terrifying  and  cruel  of  super- 
stitions. A devil-priest  was  summoned  and  arrived 
with  his  outfit  of  acolytes  and  tom-toms.  While  the 
girl  was  lying  in  a convulsion  on  the  verandah,  the 


290  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

priest  produced  a cock  to  whose  leg  he  tied  one  end 
of  a string,  and  then  tied  the  other  end  to  the  leg  of 
the  girl.  Then  began  the  furious  beating  of  tom- 
toms and  the  dancing  of  the  priest,  until  he  had 
worked  himself  into  a condition  of  frenzy.  Suddenly 
he  drew  a knife  and  struck  off  the  head  of  the  cock 
and  then  cut  the  end  of  the  string  tied  to  the  girl’s 
leg.  The  priest  declared  that  the  demon  had  entered 
along  the  string  into  the  body  of  the  cock  and  had 
then  gone  off  into  the  air  at  the  instant  when  the 
head  of  the  cock  was  struck  from  its  body.  He  then 
departed  after  declaring  that  the  girl  was  cured,  tak- 
ing the  bird  with  him.  It  was  not  known  whether 
the  girl  was  permanently  improved  by  the  treatment 
she  received ; but  it  was  authentically  reported  thafc 
the  devil-priest  had  the  rooster  for  dinner  next  day. 
Surely  he  ran  an  awful  risk  of  assimilating  some 
remnant  of  the  demon. 

In  the  third  instance,  the  girl  believed  herself 
possessed  of  a devil,  and  had  certainly  been  acting 
up  to  her  belief.  She  had  been  behaving  like  one 
“all  possessed.”  When  Mr.  Moscrop  saw  her,  her 
hair  was  dishevelled  and  her  countenance  dark  and 
fierce,  with  an  expression  fitly  described  as  demo- 
niacal. The  priestly  therapeutics  began  a wild  dance 
to  the  beating  of  tom-toms,  the  girl  dancing  in  exact 
imitation  of  the  priest.  It  was  ordered  that  this 
performance  should  be  kept  up  for  a full  hour;  but 
at  the  end  of  a half  hour  the  priest  himself  was  so 


Ceylon  and  Homeward-Bound  291 

much  used-up  that  he  was  evidently  anxious  to  bring 
his  labors  at  healing  to  a speedy  end.  He  asked  Mr. 
Moscrop  for  the  time,  which  was  given  to  him  as 
forty-five  minutes  by  a watch  one-quarter  of  an  hour 
fast.  Five  minutes  later,  the  priest  inquired  whether 
the  time  was  not  yet  at  an  end ; for  the  dance  had 
been  growing  wilder  and  both  participants  in  it 
seemed  near  the  point  of  utter  exhaustion.  On  being 
told  that  it  was  time  for  the  ceremony  to  end,  the 
dancing  ceased,  the  girl  fell  back  in  a swoon,  and 
the  priest  departed  declaring  that  the  demon  would 
never  again  trouble  her.  Since  it  was  so  much 
trouble  to  get  rid  of  the  devil  in  this  case,  we  can 
the  more  readily  believe  that  his  chance  of  getting 
a new  grip  upon  the  same  sufferer  was  at  least  con- 
siderably lessened  from  that  time  onward. 

By  a study  of  articles  written  by  a native  savant 
and  published  in  the  Ceylon  Branch  of  the  Royal 
Asiatic  Society’s  Journal,  I learned  some  very  inter- 
esting facts  regarding  the  religious  condition  of  the 
natives  of  the  island.  The  natives  of  the  lower  orders 
seem  to  care  very  little  about  Buddhism,  although 
it  is  the  religion  they  profess ; in  most  cases  of 
real  difficulty  they  do  not  freely  resort  to  it  or  to 
its  priests.  Instead  of  Buddhism,  the  devil-wor- 
ship of  their  ancestors  for  untold  generations  is  the 
underlying,  permanent,  and  practically  efficient  re- 
ligion of  the  great  multitude  of  the  lower  orders  of 
the  Singhalese. 


292  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

The  Singhalese  believe  that  the  demons  they  wor- 
ship are  of  two  kinds,  bad  and  good.  The  Taksayo, 
or  demons  proper,  are  the  cause  of  all  the  ills  that 
flesh  is  heir  to.  But  then  there  are  the  Dewivos, 
or  Dewatawos,  who  are  inferior  gods  not  necessarily 
malignant  but  easily  offended,  when  they  become 
revengeful  towards  those  who  have  displeased  them. 
Each  of  these  two  classes  of  demons  has  its  priests ; 
but  the  worship  of  neither  class  flourishes  wholly  by 
the  practice  of  its  priesthood.  The  priests  of  the 
“not-necessarily-malignant”  demons  are  subdivided 
into  four  classes,  according  to  the  delights  of  the 
demons  they  serve:  Some  there  are  who  delight  in 

propitiatory  offerings;  some  who  delight  in  living 
beings ; some  who  delight  in  music,  dancing  and 
similar  ceremonials ; and  some  who  delight  in  death. 

The  demonology  of  the  Singhalese  is  naive  but 
sufficiently  elaborate.  There  is  a kingdom  of  devils, 
vast  and  numerous,  with  a cruel  monarch  Wessamony 
at  its  head.  He  loves  tortures.  There  is  a govern- 
ment of  viceroys,  ministers,  and  subordinate  chiefs. 
Prescribed  ceremonials  of  a pandemoniacal  charac- 
ter are  in  order  every  Saturday  and  Wednesday  of 
each  week.  There  is  a regular  system  of  govern- 
ment licenses,  without  which  the  demons  cannot  in- 
flict diseases  or  receive  offerings.  But  certain  free- 
booting  demons  exist. 

The  number  of  demons  is  beyond  all  calculation ; 
but  some  fifty  or  sixty  are  most  prominent,  a sort 


Ceylon  and  Homeward-Bound  293 

of  chiefs  of  the  community.  Of  all,  the  worst  is  one 
whose  special  department  is  blood!  He  is  described 
as  having  a human  body  with  an  ape’s  face,  and  he 
rides  on  a bull  of  a deep  blood-red  color.  Another 
of  these  arch-demons  has  the  department  of  corpses 
under  his  charge ; he  is  the  “grave-yard”  demon.  He 
is  122  feet  high,  and  has  three  eyes  and  four  hands, 
and  his  skin  is  of  a deep  blood-red  color ! There  are 
demons  of  wind,  of  bile,  of  phlegm,  etc.,  etc.  The 
air  is  full  of  them.  And,  indeed,  if  one  believe  in 
demonology  at  all,  why  should  one  limit  the  number 
even  to  the  multitude  comprised  in  the  elaborate 
demonology  of  the  Singhalese?  Modern  civilization 
so-called  can  add  a vast  host  more  to  those  enumer- 
ated in  so  naive  a system. 

But  what  is  further  to  be  noticed  as  a most  sig- 
nificant fact  in  the  history  of  comparative  religions 
is  this : Buddhism  in  Ceylon  has  not  only  tolerated 

but  has  incorporated  into  itself  a considerable  part 
of  the  native  demonology.  At  least  four-fifths,  and 
perhaps  nine-tenths,  of  the  Buddhist  temples  resorted 
to  by  the  common  people  have  a central  shrine  dedi- 
cated to  Buddha;  but  on  one  side,  a shrine  dedicated 
to  some  Hindu  god  (usually  Vishnu);  and,  on  the 
other  side,  a shrine  dedicated  to  some  devil  (usually 
Pattini,  the  small-pox  goddess).  A Buddhistic  work 
of  great  authority,  as  a matter  of  discipline  for  the 
monks,  admonishes  them  not  to  throw  stones  or  sticks 
or  even  to  swing  their  arms  when  walking,  lest  they 


294  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

may  strike  some  demon  of  the  air  and  injure  and 
anger  him. 

Belief  in  “demon  trees”  is  almost  universal  among 
the  natives  of  Ceylon.  Even  in  the  city  limits  of 
Colombo  there  are  several  such  trees  to  be  seen  by 
the  observing  pedestrian.  Thieves  “conscientiously” 
avoid  them.  No  non-Christian  native  would  venture 
under  or  near  one  at  night.  Probably  only  the  more 
emancipated  Christians  could  avoid  an  involuntary 
shudder  at  their  proximity.  At  any  rate  they  are 
fain  to  turn  aside  or  hurry  by ; unless  the  tree  can 
be  used  as  an  asylum  against  the  intending  robber. 
Among  the  trees  especially  given  over  to  demons  are 
the  Ficus  altissima,  the  Cassia  fistula,  and  the  Beli 
tree.  No  one  dares  to  cut  down  such  a tree  when 
full-grown ; but  they  are  carefully  destroyed  in  the 
gardens  before  they  are  large  enough  for  a demon 
to  occupy. 

The  belief  in  demon-children  is  the  most  cruel  of 
this  class  of  superstitions:  the  belief  still  exists,  how- 
ever, and  is  widely  prevalent ; and  there  is  reason 
to  think  that  in  the  remoter  country  places  the  Gov- 
ernment has  never  succeeded  in  completely  suppress- 
ing the  practices  connected  with  it.  Scarcely  twenty 
years  before  the  time  of  our  visit,  a child  born  with  a 
profusion  of  hair  an  inch  long,  with  teeth  already 
cut,  and  with  ill-proportioned  features,  was  pro- 
nounced to  be  a “demon-child.”  Accordingly,  its 
brains  were  beaten  out  with  a club  by  the  grandfather 


Ceylon  and  Homeward-Bound  295 

of  the  child.  Under  the  watch  of  the  present  govern- 
ment, the  facts  in  the  remoter  villages  are  difficult 
to  ascertain ; but  infanticide  on  this  ground  is  prob- 
ably not  so  very  infrequent  up  to  the  present  time. 
As  to  the  older  native  custom  one  may  read  in  Robert 
Knox’s  strange  book  called  “Historical  Narration.” 
There  we  are  told : “As  soon  as  the  Child  is  born  the 
Father  or  some  Friend  apply  themselves  to  an  As- 
trologer to  enquire  whether  the  Child  be  born  in  a 
prosperous  planet,  and  a good  hour  or  an  evil.  If 
it  be  found  to  be  an  evil,  they  presently  destroy  it, 
either  by  starving  it,  let  it  lie  and  die,  or  by  drowning 
it,  putting  its  head  into  a Vessel  of  water,  or  by  bury- 
ing it  alive,  or  else  by  giving  it  to  some  body  of  the 
same  degree  with  themselves  . . . for  they  say  the 
child  will  be  unhappy  to  the  parents  and  to  none 
else.  We  have  asked  them  why  they  will  deal  so  with 
the  poor  Infants  that  come  out  of  their  bowels? 
They  will  indeed  have  a kind  of  regret  and  trouble 
at  it.  But  they  say  withal,  Why  should  1 bring 
up  a Devil  in  my  House?” 

Belief  in  astrology  is  nearly  if  not  quite  universal 
among  the  Singhalese, — as,  indeed  it  is  among  all 
peoples  of  similar  stages  of  scientific  culture.  Just 
before  our  arrival  on  the  former  visit  to  Ceylon  there 
had  been  the  greatest  excitement  in  connection  with 
the  November  shower  of  meteors.  An  Austrian 
astrologer  of  great  repute  was  bruited  abroad  as 
having  predicted  that  the  world  was  surely  coming  to 


296  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

an  end.  The  Buddhist  inhabitants  of  the  villages 
surrounding  Colombo  seemed  to  fear  most  this  im- 
pending calamity;  and  the  more  so,  since  a Brahman 
who  was  supposed  to  have  been  favoi*ed  with  a vision 
while  resting  on  a rock  near  the  Dampool  Wtheire, 
was  wandering  about  and  distributing  predictions  of 
the  arrival  on  the  thirteenth  of  that  month,  of  a 
demon  that  “was  to  cause  the  death  of  anyone  who 
spoke  in  answer  to  his  knocks  on  the  doors.”  Even 
up  to  the  time  of  our  arrival  the  priests  were  kept 
busy  saying  Pirit  and  Bana  in  the  temples,  as  well  as 
at  the  residences  of  the  more  wealthy  members  of 
their  flocks.  Several  begging  friars  were  also  parad- 
ing the  streets  of  the  city ; and  almsgiving  was  car- 
ried on  to  an  unexampled  extent. 

But  there  were  pleasanter  things  to  see  and  read 
about  than  those  which  have  just  been  described,  and 
some  of  them  no  less  curious  and  interesting.  No 
sooner  had  our  ship  come  to  anchor  than  its  rigging 
and  its  rails  were  covered  with  swarms  of  beautiful 
butterflies ; and,  after  we  had  landed,  we  saw  other 
swarms  flving  along  the  shore  of  the  sea.  The  region 
from  which  they  come,  annually  and  at  this  time  of 
the  year,  is  not  well  known;  but  the  peculiar  tiling 
about  their  flight  was  said  to  be  that  they  always 
fly  against  and  never  with  the  strong  monsoon.  The 
natives  explain  the  phenomenon  with  the  charming 
conceit  that  the  butterflies  are  making  their  annual 
visit  to  the  tomb  of  Buddha. 


Ceylon  and  Homeward-Bound  297 

The  same  corvus  impudens  with  which  we  made 
such  intimate  acquaintance  in  Madras  is  equally  in 
evidence  in  Colombo.  The  crows  congregate  in  a 
neighboring  island  which  is  named  after  them,  at 
night ; but  during  the  day  they  swarm  into  and  for- 
age the  city.  They  are  credited  with  distributing 
its  districts  among  themselves,  the  same  birds  re- 
appearing at  the  same  spots  day  after  day  and  not 
allowing  any  visits  from  intruders. 

The  street  scenes  of  Colombo  have  in  only  some- 
what diminished  degree  the  same  charming  variety  of 
picturesquely  colored  and  decorated  animal  and  hu- 
man forms.  The  bullocks  which  draw  the  carts  are 
branded, — many  in  strangely  fantastic  and  some  of 
them  in  rather  artistic  fashion  over  a large  portion 
of  the  entire  hide.  Different  styles  and  colors  of 
clothing  and  of  head-dress — the  Tamils  wear 
turbans,  the  Singhalese  go  bare-headed,  but  wear 
conspicuous  and  curiously  carved  combs — give  an 
air  of  thronged  gaiety  to  all  the  principal  thorough- 
fares, or  dot  the  thickly  shaded  lanes  along  which 
are  the  huts  of  the  poor,  and  the  extensive  com- 
pounds of  the  wealthy. 

On  the  evening  of  the  day  of  our  arrival  (Sunday) 
in  Colombo,  homeward-bound,  I spoke  in  the  church 
of  the  Wesleyan  Methodists  on  the  “Essentials  of 
Christianity.”  The  audience  was  fair  in  numbers, 
but  apparently  of  not  the  same  intellectual  quality 
as  most  of  the  Indian  audiences.  After  the  address 


298  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

a communion-service  was  held,  in  the  very  impressive 
form  of  the  Wesleyan  Methodists,  which  I had  never 
seen  before.  On  the  way  back  we  had  an  illustration 
of  the  fashion  in  which  the  common  soldier  of  the 
dominant  foreign  race  is  quite  too  apt  to  misbehave 
in  his  relations  to  the  natives  of  the  race  he  is  so  sure 
to  regard  as  quite  inferior.  The  driver  of  our  garry 
was  proceding  along  the  street-car  track  at  a fair 
but  not  extravagant  pace,  and  two  English  “Tom- 
mies” were  walking  in  front  of  his  vehicle  and  in 
the  same  direction.  The  driver  had  made  several 
attempts  to  attract  their  attention  but  without  suc- 
cess. He  was  at  last  compelled  to  pull  in  his  horse 
with  a shout  when  its  head  was  nearly  over  the  shoul- 
der of  one  of  the  soldiers.  At  this  the  Tommy 
turned  and  struck  the  poor  brute  a cruel  blow  in 
the  face  with  the  butt-end  of  his  cane.  We  barely 
escaped  being  spilled  by  the  roadside  in  a runaway ; 
and  when  the  horse  was  brought  under  control,  the 
harness  was  so  damaged  as  to  be  quite  useless  for 
draught  purposes.  We  had  to  walk  a mile  or  two 
before  we  could  secure  jinrickshas,  and  reached  the 
compound  of  our  host  late  and  exhausted.  The 
indignation  passed,  and  the  exhaustion  was  soon 
cured ; but  the  memory  of  the  walk  in  the  moonlight 
by  the  sea  on  the  Galle  Face  road  will,  in  the  wealth 
of  charm  which  it  affords,  not  soon  pass  nor  be 
exhausted. 

That  same  night  we  had  our  last  and  most  start- 


Ceylon  and  Homeward-Bound  299 

ling,  but  in  its  issue  entirely  harmless  and  rather 
amusing,  personal  experience  with  the  ways  of  the 
varied  and  ubiquitous  reptile  species  in  this  quarter 
of  the  world.  I was  awakened  by  a curious  noise 
of  periodic  thumping,  as  though  between  crawls ; and 
since  we  had  noticed  before  retiring  that  the  French 
windows  of  our  large  bedroom  opened  upon  a veran- 
dah with  steps  to  the  ground  well  adapted  for  climb- 
ing by  snakes,  I began  at  once  to  suspect  a cobra 
of  attempting  to  hitch  himself  across  the  floor  of 
the  room.  I therefore  cried  out  a sharp  warning  to 
the  other  occupant  of  the  room,  who  was  fast  asleep 
in  a bed  a dozen  feet  from  my  own:  “Wake  up,  don’t 
step  out  of  bed,  but  light  your  candle  quickly.” 
Light  procured,  feeble  though  it  was,  the  nature  of 
the  disturbance  to  our  slumbers  was  readily  ap- 
parent. For  each  successive  thump  was  followed  by 
a billowing  motion  in  the  canvas-ceiling  over  our 
heads  and  by  the  squealing  of  a terrified  rat,  the 
cessation  of  which  soon  showed  that  the  rat-snake 
had  done  well  and  thoroughly  the  very  task  for 
which  he  had  some  years  before,  when  much  smaller, 
been  shut  in  between  the  ceiling  and  the  roof  of  the 
bungalow. 

Our  last  days  in  Ceylon  were  made  memorable  by 
one  of  the  most  delightful  of  excursions,  entirely 
easy  to  be  taken,  anywhere  upon  the  face  of  the 
habitable  earth.  This  was  the  excursion  to  Kandy, 
headquarters  of  Buddhism  in  Ceylon,  and  indeed  of 


300  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

Southern  Buddhism  generally.  The  first  mention 
of  Kandy  as  a city  is  at  the  beginning  of  the  14th 
century,  when  a temple  was  built  there,  to  contain 
one  of  Buddha’s  many  mouthsful  of  teeth,  and  other 
relics  of  the  same  master’s  religion.  From  this  be- 
ginning it  grew  into  the  site  for  residences  of  the 
different  branches  of  the  royal  family  and  the  seat 
of  the  Buddhistic  hierarchical  institutions.  It  was 
afterwards  made  the  political  capital  of  the  island,- — 
an  eminence  greatly  to  its  misfortune,  for  it  is 
usually  disastrous  to  mix  religion  with  too  much 
politics.  Kandy  was  so  often  burned  in  the  wars 
between  the  Portuguese  and  the  Dutch  that  scarcely 
any  of  the  ancient  buildings  besides  the  temples  and 
the  royal  residence  were  standing  when  the  English 
took  possession  of  it  in  1815. 

We  rose  at  5 :30,  had  chota  hazri  at  6 :15  and  took 
the  train  at  7 :10  from  the  terminal  station  of  the 
railway  to  Kandy.  The  first  two  hours  of  the  jour- 
ney are  rather  monotonous  for  those  already  accus- 
tomed to  tropical  scenery ; but  to  us  who  had  not 
yet  been  surfeited  with  it,  all  was  very  interesting 
and  beautiful.  The  jungle,  so  different  from  that  of 
India ; the  varying  hues  of  the  paddy-fields ; the 
chiaro-scuro  of  the  bamboo-groves,  always  the  most 
successful  of  nature’s  attempts  at  this  style  of  del- 
icate beauty;  the  stately  water-buffalos,  with  their 
fine  brown  hides  made  lustrous  by  the  warm  sunshine, 
either  plowing  or  standing  knee-deep  tethered  in  the 


Ceylon  and  Homeward-Bound  301 

parti-colored  grasses;  the  gaily  clad  natives  just 
glimpsed  down  the  well-kept  red-rock  roads,  or  lying 
lazily  chattering  around  the  doors  of  their  brown- 
thatched  huts, — these  and  other  charming  sights  pre- 
vented all  sense  of  weariness  or  ennui,  although  the 
day  was  very  hot.  After  we  had  gone  into  the  re- 
freshment-car for  breakfast,  and  had  begun  the 
ascent  to  Kandy,  the  views  from  the  car-windows 
became  more  varied  with  near  valleys  and  distant 
mountains,  rocks  of  either  morphological  or  histori- 
cal interest  (“Bible  Rock,”  “Castle  Rock,”  and  the 
rock  down  which  the  old  monarchs  of  Kandy  used 
to  hurl  their  captives),  and  picturesque  woods  nearer 

by- 

We  left  the  train  at  Paradeniya,  and  after  a hur- 
ried visit  to  the  tea-factory  near  by,  spent  an  hour 
or  two  walking  and  driving  through  the  Royal 
Botanic  Gardens,  justly  celebrated  as  the  best  of 
all  places  to  study  tropical  vegetation.  Such  mag- 
nificence of  verdure  it  is  difficult  to  picture  in  dream- 
land and  quite  impossible  to  describe  effectively  in 
words.  The  Gardens  cover  about  150  acres  and  are 
encircled  on  three  sides  by  a royal  river.  Among 
the  most  curious  of  its  exotics  is  the  wonderful  Coco 
de  Mer,  the  fruit  of  which  has  a double  and  some- 
times triple  formation,  and  is  many  times  as  large 
as  the  ordinary  cocoa-nut,  and  sometimes  weighs  40 
or  even  50  pounds.  At  one  time  great  medicinal 
value  was  ascribed  to  it ; and  it  is  said  that  the 


302  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

Emperor  Rudolph  II  offered  4000  florins  for  a 
single  specimen.  If  there  is  truth  in  what  a visiting 
German  scientist  said  for  publication  but  perhaps 
facetiously,  that  there  is  a poisonous  snake  hanging 
from  some  limb  of  every  tree  in  the  Gardens,  we  saw 
no  evidence  of  it ; though  there  is  not  the  least  doubt 
that  poisonous  tree-snakes  are  particularly  plentiful 
in  the  Royal  Botanic  Gardens  near  Kandy. 

From  the  Gardens,  by  a road  every  hut  along 
which,  as  well  as  every  more  pretentious  dwelling,  is 
embowered  in  a garden  of  cocoa-nut  palms,  bread- 
fruit  trees,  coffee-trees,  and  brilliant  tropical  shrubs 
of  varieties  strange  to  northern  eyes,  we  drove  to 
the  City  of  Kandy.  Its  site  is  nearly  1700  feet 
above  the  sea-level,  on  the  banks  of  a small  lake 
and  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  picturesque  hills.  A 
road  called  “Lady  Horton’s  Walk”  winds  around 
one  of  these  hills ; and  on  one  of  its  almost  pre- 
cipitous sides,  from  the  carriage  one  looks  deep  down 
into  a valley  through  which  rolls  a beautiful  river. 
In  a park  at  its  foot  is  the  Governor’s  pavilion,  a 
building  of  most  attractive  architecture.  The  whole 
place  is  a perfect  paradise  of  the  Oriental  tropical 
kind.  It  is  an  almost  cruel  fate  for  travellers  who 
have  come  so  far  to  have  only  a few  hours  rather 
than  as  many  weeks  to  admire  and  enjoy  this  center 
of  southern  Buddhism. 

After  driving  around  the  artificial  lake  which  the 
cruel  Raja  Singh  constructed,  we  visited  the  temple 


Ceylon  and  Homeward-Bound  303 

on  its  shores — known  as  the  “Temple  of  the  Tooth” 
— and  its  celebrated  Library  of  palm-leaf  manu- 
scripts. It  was  one  of  these,  alleged  to  be  most 
ancient,  which  I had  some  months  before  been  per- 
mitted to  handle  as  a special  privilege  in  the  San- 
skrit College  in  Calcutta.  It  is  claimed  that  the 
“sacred  tooth”  was  brought  to  Ceylon  a short  time 
before  the  arrival  of  Fa  Hian  in  311  A.D.,  in 
charge  of  the  Princess  Kalinga  who  concealed  it  in 
the  folds  of  her  hair.  Since  that  time  it  has  been 
carried  by  forced  seizure  back  to  India,  recovered, 
hidden  for  a long  period,  discovered  by  the  Portu- 
guese and  taken  off  to  Goa  where  it  was  burned  by 
the  archbishop  in  the  presence  of  the  Portuguese 
Viceroy  and  his  court.  Another  tooth,  which  is  sup- 
posed to  be  a facsimile  of  the  original,  has  been 
substituted ; but  it  is  a piece  of  discolored  ivory 
about  two  inches  long  and  little  less  than  an  inch 
wide,  and  resembles  the  tooth  of  some  animal  (a 
crocodile?)  rather  than  a human  being.  Its  enshrine- 
ment, however,  is  worthy  of  the  divine  Buddha ; for 
the  disreputable  pretender  rests  on  a lotus  flower  of 
pure  gold,  under  seven  concentric  metal  shrines  that 
are  adorned  with  jewels  in  increasing  richness  as  they 
diminish  in  size. 

The  Library  at  Kandy  is  exceedingly  rich  in 
Buddhist  scriptures  in  the  Pali  language,  many  of 
which  are  most  beautifully  bound — if  one  can  call  it 
^binding” — in  illuminated  wooden  or  repousee  silver 


304  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

covers.  On  entering  the  Library  a plate  was  at  once 
thrust  under  my  nose  and  the  rupee  lying  upon  it 
was  a not  altogether  delicate  hint  that  the  contribu- 
tion expected  was  to  be  a coin  of  not  inferior  value. 
When  the  hint  was  repeated,  however,  it  was  finally 
met  with  a refusal:  “No.  I have  already  given 
enough,  and  I am  too  poor  to  give  more.”  I re- 
gretted afterward  that  I had  not  told  them : “Of 

all  the  many  Buddhist  temples  I have  ever  visited  you 
have  much  the  meanest  beggars ; you  are  no  better 
than  Hindus  in  your  shameless  begging.” 

On  the  train  down  to  Colombo,  in  spite  of  the 
wearisome  heat,  we  enjoyed  the  charming  views  not 
a whit  less,  but  if  possible  even  more,  than  when  we 
had  first  seen  them.  We  reached  dinner  and  bed,  well 
spent  indeed,  but  never  better  satisfied  with  a day’s 
excursion  than  that  which  took  us  to  and  from  the 
sacred  center  of  Southern  Buddhism  (not  of  the 
Mahd-Vagga,  or  so-called  “Greater  Vehicle”  to  be 
sure),  with  its  collection  of  the  TLPitika  or  “The 
Three  Baskets”  or  Testaments,  of  the  canon  of 
Buddhistic  scriptures  in  the  Pali  language,  now  ac- 
counted “to  furnish  the  most  authoritative  informa- 
tion of  the  Buddha  and  his  doctrine  that  we  have.” 
We  had  indeed  only  seen  the  jeweled  covers  of  a few 
of  these  scriptures ; but  we  could  henceforth  collect, 
as  occasion  required,  some  of  the  jewels  of  thought 
which  they  conveyed,  by  reference  to  English  trans- 
lations, with  quickened  memories  and  more  enlight- 
ened interest. 


Ceylon  and  Homeward-Bound  305 

“Even  as  a man  hemmed  in  by  foes. 

Seeking  a certain  safe  escape. 

And  nathless  seeking  not  to  flee, 

Might  not  the  blameless  pathway  chide; 

“So,  when  my  passions  hem  me  in, 

And  yet  a way  to  bliss  exists, 

Should  I not  seek  to  follow  it, 

That  way  of  bliss  I might  not  chide.” 

The  “lecturing  campaign,”  if  so  it  may  be  called, 
which  had  begun  in  Japan  and  which  had  included 
considerably  more  than  one-hundred  addresses  on 
topics  of  educational,  philosophical,  and  religious  in- 
terest, came  to  a close  with  an  address  on  “Im- 
mortality in  the  Light  of  Modem  Science,”  the 
evening  of  the  day  before  we  left  Ceylon.  The  audi- 
ence was  larger,  and  seemed  more  intellectually  keen 
and  more  deeply  interested  than  had  the  other  audi- 
ences which  I addressed  in  Colombo.  A bullock-cart 
and  jinrickshas  brought  us  to  the  jetty,  from  which 
the  conveyance  to  the  ship  “Derbyshire”  in  the  offing 
was  smooth  and  quick,  and  so  in  most  marked 
contrast  with  the  rough  and  dangerous  passage  on 
board  the  “Chusan,”  when  a tropical  thunder-storm 
and  its  hurricane  of  wind  had  only  partially  sub- 
sided, in  November  of  the  preceding  year. 

For  the  last  time  we  were  entertained  with  the 
spectacle  of  a great  ship  getting  ready  to  sail  from 
one  of  the  large  cities  of  the  tropics  along  this 
thronged  line  of  ocean  traffic.  The  scene  aboard  and 
around  the  ship  had  its  customary  varied  and  lively 
aspect.  Boys  were  diving  for  small  coins  which  they 


306  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  m India 

had  coaxed  the  passengers  standing  bj  the  rail  to 
throw  into  the  water;  other  boys  were  climbing  the 
ship’s  side  or  dancing  on  their  small  rafts,  whacking 
their  naked  sides  to  keep  the  rag-time  of  the  ditties 
they  were  singing;  venders  of  cheap  jewelry  and 
other  jimcracks  were  trying  to  coax  the  passengers 
away  from  the  rail,  to  inspect  their  wares  and  per- 
chance yield  to  their  importunities  and  their  vocif- 
erous lying;  boats  were  bringing  loads  of  passengers 
aboard  or  conveying  away  the  friends  who  had  said 
their  last  tearful  or  laughing  farewells;  and  swarms 
of  dark-skinned  coolies  were  loading  on  the  last  of 
a cargo  which,  for  variety  and  strangeness  of  its 
commodities,  can  be  matched  nowhere  outside  of 
tropical  waters.  For  us  it  was  a mingling  of  sad- 
ness and  pleasure  to  have  to  say : “Good-bye,  vastly 
interesting  and  mysterious  India;  good-bye  exquis- 
itely charming  but  as  yet  scarcely  half-redeemed 
Ceylon.” 

The  “Derbyshire”  sailed  promptly  from  the  offing 
at  Colombo  at  six  o’clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the 
eighth  of  March,  1900;  the  entire  voyage  of  twelve 
days  to  Ismailiya,  which  had  been  dreaded  so  much 
on  account  of  the  predicted  terrific  heat,  really 
proved  most  comfortable,  refreshing  and  rest- 
ful. After  the  first  few  hours  the  thermometer  in 
our  cabin  was  never  much,  if  any,  above  eighty ; and 
when  we  reached  the  Red  Sea,  instead  of  rising,  as 
it  usually  does  at  that  time  of  the  year,  we  were 


Ceylon  and  Homezuard-Bovmd  307 

favored  with  a strong  cool  breeze  from  the  North- 
east. Indeed,  many  of  the  passengers  began  to  de- 
velop influenzas,  fevers,  and  neuralgias,  due  to  a 
sudden  drop  of  nearly  thirty  degrees  in  the  tem- 
perature. 

The  passenger  fare,  which  was  chiefly  from  Bur- 
mah,  afforded  few  companions;  but  to  sit  and  read 
in  the  open  air,  in  summer  clothing,  and  at  times 
to  rest  the  eyes  by  watching  the  sailors,  or  the  rush 
of  the  smooth  waters,  or  the  flight  of  the  birds,  was 
pastime  enough  for  those  who  had  just  come  from  a 
surfeit  of  other  more  exacting  activities  of  an  intel- 
lectual and  social  kind. 

By  listening  to  the  conversation  of  a “burgher” 
who  had  been  a magistrate  in  Ceylon,  I heard  re- 
peated the  customary  denunciations  of  all  the  native 
races  of  all  that  part  of  the  world.  In  his  opinion, 
based  upon  thirty  years  of  experience  with  them,  the 
Singhalese  were  the  most  degraded  and  dishonest  race 
upon  the  face  of  the  earth.  The  Singhalese  misses, 
whose  fathers  had  got  a little  property, — apeing 
aristocratic  foreign  manners — insisted  on  having  a 
coolie-girl  to  carry  their  prayer-books  to  church 
for  them ! The  native  barristers,  police  and  other 
officers,  were  almost  universally  corrupt.  But,  on 
being  questioned,  my  informant  admitted  that  the 
English  Government  officers  had  not  always  been 
shining  examples  of  unimpeachable  virtue ; and  he 
especially  instanced  one  of  them,  whose  name  is 


308  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  in  India 

known  all  over  the  world  as  a writer  on  Buddhism, 
as  having  habitually  received  presents  from  the  head- 
men of  the  villages,  and  as  having  been  dismissed 
from  the  service  for  having  lied  about  the  bribery 
when  he  was  accused  of  it.  He  also  admitted  that 
the  Singhalese  were  probably  no  worse  than  the  na- 
tive races  of  Bengal  and  of  Burmah;  while,  on  the 
other  hand,  a gentleman  who  had  lived  a long  time  in 
Burmah  gave  a much  more  favorable  account  of  both 
priests  and  people  in  that  British  Province.  On 
this  whole  matter, — now  so  increasingly  important 
on  account  of  our  growing  and  tightening  relations 
with  Oriental  peoples  of  various  races  and  degrees 
of  civilization  or  barbarism — it  is  my  experience  that 
men  are  everywhere  essentially  alike;  although  the 
ways  of  showing  the  good  or  the  bad  disposition  and 
intent  vary  wonderfully.  These  ways  of  expressing 
goodness  and  badness  you  have  to  know  before  you 
can  judge  the  real  man  fairly. 

At  length  we  were  inside  the  Gulf  of  Suez,  with 
the  land  visible  on  either  side.  The  shores  of 
Arabia  and  of  Egypt,  even  when  wholly  barren,  are 
exceedingly  picturesque.  How  strange  to  think  that 
centuries  ago  in  time,  but  only  a few  miles  distant 
in  space,  Mosaism  and  Muhammadanism  originated ; 
and  separated  by  a narrow  strip  of  water  and  of 
land,  the  monarchies  of  ancient  Egypt  rose  and 
fell. 

And  now,  just  before  the  bugle  blew  for  dinner 


Ceylon  and  Homeward-Bound  309 

we  came  to  anchor  off  Suez  at  the  entrance  to  the 
Canal.  It  was  a fairy-like  scene  which  was  to  be 
enjoyed  as  we  lay  there  for  more  than  two  hours 
passing  quarantine  and  complying  with  the  other 
regulations  necessary  to  admit  us  through  the  Canal. 
When,  about  ten  o’clock,  the  full  moonlight  made 
faint  the  rows  of  red  and  green  buoys  on  either  side 
of  the  Canal,  the  view  became  even  more  weird,  soft 
and  enchanting.  At  three  o’clock  of  that  moonlit 
night  the  ship  turned  into  the  basin  opposite  the 
customhouse  at  Ismailiya,  and  without  quite  stopping 
took  aboard  the  dozen  of  new  passengers  waiting 
on  the  harbor  launch.  Then,  after  letting  our  lug- 
gage into  the  same  launch,  careful  hands  lowered  us 
enough  to  enable  us  to  jump  into  the  arms  of  the 
sailor  standing  in  the  ship’s  shadow  below.  The  gong 
rang  “Speed  ahead,”  and  the  “Derbyshire”  moved 
into  the  further  moonlight  and  was  soon  lost  to  sight. 
Thus  it  cut  the  last  link  that  bound  our  senses  to 
the  winter  spent  in  India. 

After  I had  given  the  Turk,  who  was  even  at  this 
uncanny  hour  seated  “at  the  receipt  of  customs,” 
word  of  honor  that  we  had  nothing  which  the  law 
did  not  permit  in  the  various  pieces  of  luggage,  they 
were  left  in  the  customs-house,  and  their  owner  went 
to  join  his  wife  in  the  Inn  “Victoria”  across  the  way, 
for  the  few  hours  until  the  morning  train  should  start 
for  Cairo. 

Here  ends  the  story  briefly  told  of  how  in  some- 


310  Intimate  Glimpses  of  Life  m India 

what  more  than  a half-year  of  time  we  had  come  from 
the  Far  East  to  the  Near  East,  gathering  much  in- 
formation, making  many  friends,  and — we  faintly 
hoped — distributing  some  bits  of  good  influence,  by 
the  way.  We  had  seen  numerous  kinds  of  peoples 
and  types  of  civilization ; — their  ways  of  transacting 
business  and  of  social  intercourse,  their  varying  cos- 
tumes and  strange  customs,  their  manner  of  welcom- 
ing the  new-born  babe  into  the  world,  of  disciplining 
or  neglecting  him,  of  feasting  and  of  mourning,  of 
marrying  their  youth  and  burying  their  dead ; in  a 
word,  what  they  thought  of  life  and  how  they  took 
it  all,  so  far  as  could  be  judged  from  their  most 
ordinary  or  more  secret  conventions,  and  their  preva- 
lent forms  of  expressing  the  heart’s  emotions  in 
words  and  conduct.  Best  of  all  of  our  privileges,  and 
on  the  whole  profitable,  was  the  rare  opportunity 
which  had  been  so  freely  and  painstakingly  provided 
to  give  us  some  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  five 
greatest  of  religions,  of  Confucianism,  Buddhism, 
Hinduism,  Muhammadanism,  and  Christianity — 
their  beliefs,  ceremonial,  and  precepts  for  the  regula- 
tion of  the  practical  life.  In  a word,  we  had  come 
from  the  Land  of  the  Rising  Sun,  stopping  longest 
under  the  high  lights  and  amidst  the  deep  shadows 
of  India,  to  finish  all  our  observations  and  experi- 
ences by  going  to  slumber  under  the  mysterious 
moonlight  that  shone  on  the  Deserts  of  Arabia  and 
the  Valley  of  the  Nile. 


INDEX 


Agra,  magnificence  of,  109f. ; 
Government  Jail  of,  117. 

Ahmidabad,  ancient  city  of, 
73f. ; seat  of  Jainism,  74. 

Ahmednagae,  history  of, 
216f. ; famine  and  plague 
in,  218f. ; “Second  Church  of 
Christ”  in,  220,  225;  mis- 
sions in,  224f.,  227f.,  229f. 

Akbar  the  Great,  Founder 
of  Mogul  Empire,  92-94; 
Tomb  of,  at  Sikandra,  HOf. ; 
palaces  of,  at  Agra,  lllf. 

Amber,  described,  81  f. 

Architecture,  of  the  Mogul 
Empire,  96f.,  98f.,  114f.;  in 
Southern  India,  273f.;  of 
the  Dravidian  Temple  type, 
276. 

Babus,  meaning  of  term,  136; 
of  Bengal,  136,  148f.,  150f. ; 
the  Singhalese,  307. 

Ballantine,  Dr.,  accompanies 
to  the  Caves  of  Ellora,  201  f. 

Banurji,  J ustice,  orthodoxy 
of,  143. 

Banurji,  Mr.  Kali,  standing 
of,  141;  escort  of,  144,  164; 
influence  of,  152. 

Benares,  The  “Holt,”  Chap. 
VIII;  general  view  of,  179f., 
182;  burning  ghats  of, 
178f. ; Ganges  bank  of, 
181  f.;  temples  of,  182f. ; 
lecture  at  the  Sanskrit  Col- 
lege, 184f. ; and  at  the  Mis- 
sion, 193. 


Bhaxdarkar,  Prof.,  religious 
views  of,  45 f.,  220. 

Bhinga,  The  “Ascetic  Raja,” 
visit  to,  173f. ; his  view  of 
Maja,  175f.;  and  of  Nir- 
vana, 176. 

Bhutia  Busti,  village  of,  121f. 

Bochum,  Jesuit  Father,  14, 
16,  37. 

Bombay,  city  of,  Chap.  II,  25- 
27;  public  buildings  of,  25 f., 
36;  University  of,  26f.,  36; 
streets  of,  27f. 

Bose,  Mr.,  Founder  of  Branch 
of  Brahmo-Somaj,  158. 

Brahmans,  superstitions  of, 
164f.,  165f.,  227 f .,  233,  249f.; 
of  good  caste  in  Madura, 
271. 

Brahmanism,  deficiencies  of, 
220f.,  249  f. ; its  conception 
of  God,  222f. ; and  of  sin, 
223f. ; corruptions  of,  245 f. 

Brahmo-Somaj,  annual  cele- 
bration of,  141  f.,  159;  City 
College  of,  144f. ; visit  to, 
152f„  154f.,  157f.,  159f. ; 
religious  services  of,  154f., 
159. 

British  Government  in  In- 
dia, various  estimates  of, 
42f.,  43 f.,  221  f.,  246 f. ; of 
Bengal,  140f. ; educational 
policy  of,  149f.,  232f.;  in 
Southern  India,  246f.,  248, 
250f. 

Buddhism,  tradition  as  to 
founding  of,  187-189;  col- 


812 


Index 


lection  of  art-work  of,  in 
Madras,  262;  in  Ceylon, 
285 f.,  293f.;  its  seat  at  Kan- 
dy, 299f. 

Burgess,  on  Caves  of  Ellora, 
207. 

Calcutta,  situation  of  the 
City,  138;  as  Capital  of  In- 
dia, 138f.,  144-148;  lectures 
at,  141  f.,  143;  educational 
institutions  of,  144f.,  145f., 
146  f.,  148f. 

Candy,  Chief  Justice,  as  vice- 
Chancellor  of  University,  16, 
31  f.,  S7f. 

Ceremokials,  of  Hinduism,  A 
“Death  Ceremonial,”  48-63; 
at  Benares,  181-184;  in 
Southern  India,  275,  277. 

Ceylon,  history  of,  285 f.,  293; 
Singhalese  rulers  of,  286; 
physical  characteristics  of, 
286f.,  300,  304;  devil-wor- 
ship in,  291  f.,  294f. ; Bud- 
dhism in,  293. 

Chaitanya  Somaj,  visit  to, 
159. 

Colghan,  Archbishop,  visit 
to,  260 f. 

Colombo,  natural  characteris- 
tics of,  287,  297 ; Christian 
population  of,  288;  streets 
of,  297;  lectures  in,  297f., 
305;  journey  from,  to  Is- 
mailiya,  306-309. 

Crudgington,  Dr.,  his  ascent 
of  the  Congo,  108. 

Curzon,  Lord,  “Viceroy  of  In- 
dia,” views  of  education, 
149f. ; hospitality  of,  160, 
162f. 

Dadu,  founder  of  Hindu  Prot- 
estant Sect,  89. 

Darjeeling,  Chap.  VI;  jour- 
ney to,  122f. ; Mr.  Brown, 


our  host,  in,  126,  134;  the 
landslides  at,  126f.;  as  seen 
from  “Observatory  Hill,” 
128. 

Da-ud  Khan,  Mogul  ruler  in 
Southern  India,  250f. 

Daulatabad,  station  of,  202, 
213;  rock  fortress  of,  203, 
21  If. 

Deccan,  physical  characteris- 
tics of,  217f. 

Delhi,  Siege  of,  94f.,  96; 
mosque  of,  95f. ; “Fort”  at, 
96f. 

Devil  Worship,  as  practiced 
even  by  Christians  in  Cey- 
lon, 288f.,  290f. ; prevalence 
in  Ceylon,  291  f.,  294f. ; be- 
lief in  “demon  trees,”  294; 
and  in  “demon  children,” 
294f. 

Dravidian,  its  temple  archi- 
tecture, 276f.;  languages  of, 
279  f. 

Durga,  worship  of,  178. 

Elephanta,  Caves  of,  visit  to, 
39  f. 

Ellora,  Caves  of,  journey  to 
the,  200f.,  202f.;  bungalow 
at,  205;  Fergusson’s  de- 
scription of,  206f.;  visit  to, 
207f. ; return  from,  210f. 

Famine  Camps,  at  Ahmeda- 
bad,  87;  and  Jaipur,  87f.; 
at  Ahmednagar,  217f. 

Fergusson,  on  architecture  of 
India,  ( quoted ) 111,  116;  on 
Caves  of  Ellora,  206f.,  208f. 

Fort  George,  history  of,  249f., 
254;  visit  to,  253-256;  de- 
scription of,  253f. 

Hati  Singh,  temple  of,  74,  76. 

Hector,  Dr.,  Principal  of 
“Free  Church  College,”  146; 
hospitality  of,  163f. 


Index 


313 


Himalaya  {“Himachal”), 
meaning  of  name,  122;  as 
seen  from  “Observatory 
Hill,”  126,  127f.,  129f.;  as 
seen  from  Jalapahar,  132f. 

Himalayan  Railway,  de- 
scribed, 124f.,  136. 

Hinduism,  freedom  of  belief 
in,  44f.,  175,  220f.,  270f.; 
power  of  caste,  in,  44f., 
164f.,  234,  271  f.;  obscenity 
and  cruelty  of,  167f.,  177, 
242f.,  247  f. ; the  “higher,” 
174f.,  184f.,  222;  converts 
from,  226f. ; as  contrasted 
with  Christianity,  220f. 

Hopkins,  Prof.,  E.  W.  (quot- 
ed), 167,  247. 

Hugli,  character  of  the  River, 
139. 

Humayun,  Tomb  of,  107. 

Hume,  Dr.  Robert,  work  in 
Ahmednagar,  218,  224f. 

Hyderabad,  The  “Nizam,” 
founding  of,  199f. ; bunga- 
low of,  205. 

Jains,  doctrines  of,  74f.,  78, 
169f. ; numbers  of,  in  India, 
77;  temple  of,  in  Calcutta, 
169f. 

Jaipur,  history  of  city,  81  f.; 
museum  of,  83;  observatory 
of,  84,  85;  government  of, 
86  f. 

Jalapahar  Hill,  seat  of  can- 
tonment at  Darjeeling,  132f. 

“Jumping  Well,”  adventure 
at,  102-107. 

Kailas,  rock  temple  of,  208 f. 

Kali,  worship  of,  167,  169; 
visit  to  temple  of,  167f. 

Kandy,  excursion  to,  299-304; 
temples  at,  303,  304;  Li- 
brary at,  303 f. 

Kang  Yu-wei,  flight  of,  from 
Japan,  20f. 


“Kapola  Bania”  Caste,  tem- 
ples and  burning-ghat,  of, 
49f. ; worship  of  the,  51  f. ; 
“Death  Ceremonial”  of,  53- 
63. 

Keshub  Chunder  Sen,  visit 
to  his  home,  153f. ; his  tomb, 
154;  the  chapel  where  he 
taught,  154f. 

Knox,  Robert,  his  book  on 
demonology  in  Ceylon,  295. 

Kutb  Minar,  visit  to,  99f. 

“Lily  Cottage,”  home  of 
Keshub  Chunder  Sen,  de- 
scribed, 153f.,  155f. 

Madras,  journey  to,  234f.; 
physical  aspect  of,  236f., 
265;  earthquake  at,  237; 
quarantine  at,  237f. ; lec- 
tures at,  238  f.,  266,  267;  va- 
rious schools  in,  239f. ; Mu- 
seum of,  261  f.,  263;  sur- 
rounding Missions,  265f. 

Madura,  history  of,  269 f. ; re- 
ception at,  270f. ; invitation 
to  the  Hindu  Club  of,  271f. ; 
Mission  work  in,  272f.,  281; 
“Great  Temple,”  of,  de- 
scribed, 275f.,  277f. 

Majumdar,  153. 

Malabar  Hill,  23,  28. 

Malabari,  visit  from,  40f. ; 
his  estimate  of  various  peo- 
ples, 40f. ; and  of  the  Brit- 
ish Government,  42f. 

Manucci,  so-called  “Pepys  of 
Mogul  India,”  204,  249,  251, 
256,  258;  his  actions  in 
Southern  India,  249f.,  251f., 
255,  258;  marriage,  255 f. ; 
practice  of  “blood-letting,” 
256;  his  home  on  “Big 
Mount,”  258. 

Miller,  Dr.,  President  of 
“Christian  College,”  239. 


314 


Index 


Mogul  Empire,  history  of,  92- 
94;  architecture  of,  96f., 
98f.,  114f. ; in  Southern  In- 
dia, 243f.,  249  f. 

Moti  Musjid,  or  “Pearl 
Mosque,”  described,  11  If. 

Mount  St.  Thomas,  or  “Big 
Mount,”  visit  to,  258f. 

Nirvana,  Jain’s  view  of,  75f.; 
Raja  Bhinga’s  view,  176. 

Paradeniya,  visit  to  Royal 
Botanic  Gardens  at,  301  f. 

“Pabthana  Somaj,”  46. 

Parsees,  wealth  of,  63f. ; wed- 
ding ceremony  of,  64-69. 

Passumalia,  visit  to,  274f. 

“Patrika,”  The,  visit  to  edi- 
tor of,  166f. 

“Peacock  Throne,”  the,  97f. 

Pedlar,  Mr.,  “Director  of  Ed- 
ucation” in  Bengal,  his 
views,  150. 

Penny,  Mrs.,  historian  of 
Fort  George,  Madras,  249. 

Portuguese,  in  Southern  In- 
dia, 239,  240f. 

Ptimadu  Daulah,  Tomb  of, 

112. 

Ranade,  Chief  Justice,  qual- 
ities of,  18;  welcome  by, 
32f. ; interest  in  Social  Re- 
form, 39  f. 

Rauza,  shrine  of  Deccan  Mus- 
sulmans, 203. 

Ripon  College,  147f. 

Sakya-Muni,  “The  Buddha,” 
his  connection  with  Benares, 
172f.,  186f„  190,  192;  found- 
ing of  school  at  Sarnath, 
186f. ; oldest  relic  of,  261  f. 

Sarnath,  visit  to,  186-193, 
188,  190,  192f. 

“Shankara-charya,”  of  the 
Shaiva  Sect,  62  f. 


Shephard,  J ustice,  introduc- 
tion by,  239;  entertained  by, 
263 f. 

Shivaites,  Temple  of,  in  Ma- 
dura, 275f.;  obscene  worship 
of,  275  f. 

Sikandra,  “Appian  Way”  to, 
109 f. ; Tomb  of  Akbar  at, 
HOf. 

Singhalese,  demonology  of, 
29 If.,  294 f. 

Tagore,  Sir  Jotindra,  The 
Pirati  or  “polluted”  Brah- 
man, visit  to,  164f. 

Taj  Mahal,  as  the  “glory  of 
Agra,”  113;  described,  113f.; 
second  visit  to,  115f. ; criti- 
cism of,  116f. 

Tata,  Mr.  J.  N.,  31,  33. 

Tavernier,  ( quoted ) 97. 

Thome,  Saint,  visit  to  Church 
of,  257f. 

Thurston,  Dr.,  custodian  of 
the  Madras  Museum,  261  f., 
263. 

Tilak,  Mr.  N.  V.,  his  criti- 
cism of  Brahmanism,  220f., 
222. 

Timumala  Nayak,  palace 
of,  described,  273f. 

Tirthankar,  office  of,  among 
the  Jains,  75f.,  169f. 

“Towers  of  Silence,”  the,  29 f. 

Tribhowandas,  Mr.,  48f.;  in- 
vitation by,  52f.,  55f. 

Vedas,  orthodox  view  of,  59f.; 
liberal  view  of,  174f. 

Yale,  Elihu,  as  Governor  of 
Madras,  239,  255;  relics  of, 
at  Fort  George,  255  f. ; mar- 
riage certificate  of,  255; 
facsimile  of  Tomb  of  his 
son,  257. 


